Jean P. Derrick, Respondent,
v.
Lisa C. Moore, Appellant. Appellate Case No. 2016-000804
Submitted September 19, 2018
Withdrawn, Substituted, and Refiled April 24, 2019
Appeal
From Kershaw County DeAndrea G. Benjamin, Circuit Court
Judge,
Robert
Daniel Dodson, of Law Offices of Robert Dodson, PA, of
Columbia, for Appellant.
William S. Tetterton, of Tetterton Law Firm, LLC, of Camden,
and Katherine Carruth Goode, of Winnsboro, for Respondent.
LOCKEMY C.J.
This is
an appeal from a circuit court order compelling Lisa Moore
(Client) to resolve a fee dispute through the Resolution of
Fee Disputes Board of the South Carolina Bar (the Board).
Client argues (1) Jean Derrick (Attorney) waived the right to
compel her appearance before the Board by first filing an
action in the circuit court, (2) the circuit court lacked
authority to compel Client's appearance before the Board,
and (3) Attorney's fee agreement is unenforceable under
the South Carolina Uniform Arbitration Act.[1] We
affirm.[2]
I.
FACTS
Client
retained Attorney in April 2011 to represent her in a family
court matter in Kershaw County. At the onset of the
representation, Client and Attorney signed a fee agreement,
which provided: "ANY DISPUTE CONCERNING THE FEE DUE
PURSUANT TO THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE SUBMITTED BY THE
DISSATISFIED PARTY FOR A FULL, FINAL RESOLUTION TO [THE
BOARD], PURSUANT TO RULE 416 OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA APPELLATE
COURT RULES."
Attorney's
representation of Client continued from April 2011 through
April 2014. On March 6, 2014, the family court entered a
final order largely favoring Client and awarding her
attorney's fees.[3] The family court found the litigation was
"relatively complex," Attorney had "obtained
beneficial results across the board for [Client]," the
number of hours expended on the case was reasonable, and
Attorney's hourly fee was reasonable for a practitioner
with thirty-six years' experience. Based on these
findings, the family court ordered the opposing party to pay
$12, 000 in attorney's fees-or roughly sixty percent of
Client's $20, 509.55 legal bill-directly to Client by
July 4, 2014. This order was not appealed.
Client's
last payment to Attorney was in May 2014; however, there
still remained an outstanding balance of $10, 484.40. Client
did not object to the amount of the bill and repeatedly
assured Attorney she would pay, although this evidently never
happened. On October 6, 2014, Attorney commenced an action
against Client in the circuit court to recover the unpaid
fees.
Client
answered, and by way of an affirmative defense, asserted
Attorney had failed to comply with the provision of the fee
agreement that required all fee disputes to be resolved by
the Board. Client also submitted counterclaims for breach of
contract accompanied by a fraudulent act, violation of the
South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act, abuse of process,
and conversion. Attorney answered and moved for an order
compelling Client to submit the fee dispute to the Board
pursuant to the fee agreement and Rule 416, SCACR.
At a
hearing on Attorney's motion, Client contended the
circuit court lacked the authority to send a fee dispute to
the Board without her consent. Client also argued Attorney
waived the right to have the fee dispute settled before the
Board by electing instead to file a lawsuit in the circuit
court.
On
December 4, 2015, the circuit court granted Attorney's
motion, concluding the fee agreement bound Client to
adjudicate any fee disputes before the Board. Client filed a
motion to reconsider, arguing (1) the circuit court lacked
the authority to compel Client to arbitrate fee disputes
through the Board, (2) Client did not consent to the
Board's jurisdiction, (3) the fee agreement was unlawful
under the Uniform Arbitration Act, and (4) Attorney waived
the ...