On August 29, 2022, Justice Odorisi of the Seventh Judicial District Commercial Division issued a decision in Spin Capital v. Texas Med. Ctr. Supply, LLC, 2022 NY Slip Op. 32914(U), declining to award without further justification a victorious plaintiff attorneys’ fees when those fees were based on a contingency fee arrangement, explaining:
Despite the above, this Court declines to award Plaintiff its full contract-based attorneys’ fees. Contingent fees are not impermissible, and can be set by contract. Nevertheless, a court always retains the authority to look beyond the actual fee
arrangement between plaintiff and counsel to determine whether that arrangement was reasonable and proportionate to the normal fee chargeable by attorneys in the context of this case. This rule was enacted to recognize cases involving disparity of bargaining power or oppressive practices and prevent the contractual imposition of a penalty.Under the foregoing rules, this Court finds that the requested attorneys fees of $404,952 needs to be tested via additional submissions. A reduced award is highly likely.
(Internal quotations and citations omitted).