Seyfarth, Shaw, Fairweather & Geraldson v. Lake Fairfax Seven Ltd. Partnership

In this appeal, we consider whether a law firm that filed an action to collect legal fees from a former client is required to establish with expert testimony that the fees charged to the former client were reasonable. This appeal is presented to us in an unusual procedural posture in that the trial court sustained the defendants’ motion to strike the plaintiff’s evidence at the conclusion of the opening statements.

The law firm, Seyfarth, Shaw, Fairweather & Geraldson, a limited partnership, filed its motion for judgment against Lake Fairfax Seven Limited Partnership and Thomson M. Hirst,…