## Facts

- A client retained attorneys under a written fee agreement providing a $10,000 fixed fee plus a contingent fee of 50% of any recovery exceeding $600,000.
- The attorneys performed substantial legal services under the agreement.
- Before the matter concluded, the client discharged the attorneys without cause, hired new counsel, and later settled for a net recovery of $500,000.
- Because the recovery did not exceed $600,000, the contingent component would not have been triggered; the maximum fee payable under the contract’s terms (given the outcome) was $10,000.
- The discharged attorneys sued for fees in quantum meruit, claiming the reasonable value of their services was $55,000.
- The trial court awarded $55,000 on a quantum meruit theory.
- The district court of appeal reduced the award to $10,000, holding quantum meruit recovery could not exceed what the attorneys would have received under the contract.
- The Florida Supreme Court accepted review to resolve conflict with earlier precedent and issued its controlling decision on rehearing.

## Issues

1. Whether quantum meruit is an appropriate basis for compensating an attorney discharged without cause after substantial services under a valid fee contract.
2. Whether, if quantum meruit applies, the attorney’s recovery is limited by the maximum fee allowed under the contract as measured by the matter’s actual outcome.

## Decision

- The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s reduction of the award to $10,000.
- The Court held that an attorney discharged without cause may recover the reasonable value of services on a quantum meruit basis.
- The Court further held that quantum meruit recovery is capped at the maximum fee provided in the parties’ employment contract, as determined in light of the actual result obtained.
- The Court receded from prior Florida precedent to the extent it was inconsistent with this rule.

## Legal Principles

- A client has the right to discharge an attorney without cause; fee rules must avoid economically penalizing the client for exercising that right.
- When an attorney is discharged without cause after rendering substantial services under a valid fee agreement, the proper measure of compensation is quantum meruit (reasonable value of services).
- Quantum meruit recovery in this setting cannot exceed the maximum fee the attorney could have received under the fee contract had the representation continued through completion, considering the actual disposition of the underlying matter.
- The contract operates as a ceiling on recovery, preventing an attorney from obtaining more than the bargained-for maximum while still allowing compensation to prevent unjust enrichment.

## Conclusion

The court held that a lawyer discharged without cause may recover fees in quantum meruit for the reasonable value of services, but the award may not exceed the maximum compensation permitted by the parties’ fee agreement as applied to the case’s actual outcome, and it affirmed limiting recovery to the $10,000 contractual maximum.


Rosenberg v. Levin, 409 So. 2d 1016 (Fla. 1982)