Davis v. Taylor

344 S.E.2d 19 (1986)

Facts

Kathy Davis (M) gave birth to Whitney in 1980. Lawrence Taylor (F) and M discussed whether F would pay to support Whitney. Both M and F were students at the University of North Carolina. F began playing football for the New York Giants. A tentative agreement was reached by the attorney representing M and F. The first attorney representing M was Elmore but M was then referred to another attorney, Gledhill and then M signed up Gledhill for representation based on a contingent fee of 1/3 of any recovery that was to be paid less than monthly plus any attorney fees awarded by the court. M filed a paternity suit against F, and as part of those proceedings, F was ordered to pay $18,500 for services rendered to M from 2-10-82 to 4-4-83. The agreement between M and Gledhill was changed to a noncontingent fee arrangement in response to the decision in Thompson v. Thompson. Another resolution was reached, and F was ordered to pay additional fees. Total attorney fees were $45,070.24, and F appealed the orders to pay those.