In Wexford Parkhomes Condo. Assn. v Kajma, an unpublished Michigan Court of Appeals opinion, the association was awarded a judgment against a delinquent co-owner, but the court denied fees related to work by the firm’s paralegal and reduced some of the fee for work performed by the firm’s attorneys. The association appealed.
On appeal, the court noted that MCR 2.626 provides that an award of attorney fees can include time spent by a paralegal who contributed non-clerical legal support if the paralegal meets the criteria set forth in Article 1, §6 of the Bylaws of the State Bar of Michigan. However, although the firm claimed in its motion that the paralegal was so qualified, the law firm never provided evidence to the trial court of the paralegals qualifications.
The Court of Appeals also overturned the trial court’s decision reducing or adjusting some of the attorney time. In one instance, the trial court reduced the claimed time of 10 hours to prepare the summary disposition motion to three hours. The appeals court held that the 10 hours was not unreasonable in relation to the work needed to address the many issues raised by the pro per defendant.
The opinion contains a fairly good summary of the standards and burden of proof to be applied when a party makes application for attorney fees under the MI Condominium Act.