Shaw v. Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co.

OPINION OF THE COURT

Kaye, J.

A contingent fee retainer agreement, on a form supplied by counsel, "to prosecute or adjust” a client’s personal injury claim, with no provision regarding the advance of litigation expenses is — in the context of the present case — unclear, and will be read most favorably for the client. Here we conclude that, so construed, the retainer agreement ended upon an adverse judgment following trial and that, even if this agreement persisted through appeal, it required the attorney to continue advancing the client’s litigation expenses. In either event counsel is entitled…