LEWIS v. NICAL OF PALM BEACH INC (2009)

In this long running breach of contract dispute with frequent appearances in our court,¹ we are asked to add the time value of paralegal work to an award of attorney's fees and to require prejudgment interest on several fee awards in different contempt proceedings. We are loathe to add to the ocean of words generated by this protracted dispute, so will simply state our results with but a brief comment.

The attorneys for the Scott Lewis side claim the value of paralegal labor in preparing for hearings and related proceedings. The paralegals in question are not regular employees or staff of their able counsel but instead none other than Scott Lewis and Carol Lewis themselves. The trial court denied this request.

We affirm that decision. The inherent possibility for mischief in deeming the client a paralegal of the representing attorney is apparent enough to cast a dense shadow over even the mere theoretical prospect of the argument they make. In this instance we note the utter absence of any showing that the labor of the client was required by the lawyer or had the effect of reducing the fee claimed by the lawyer.

We reverse the trial court's denial of prejudgment interest on the attorney's fees awarded.² On remand, the court shall calculate the amount of prejudgment interest due from the date of each discrete decision of entitlement to fees for a contempt proceeding.³

FARMER, J.

POLEN and STEVENSON, JJ., concur.