Szczepanski v. Newcomb Medical Center, Inc.

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

stein' J.

As in Rendine v. Pantzer, 141 N.J. 292, 661 A.2d 1202 (1995), also decided today, this appeal concerns the standards to be applied by trial courts in awarding a reasonable counsel fee under state fee-shifting statutes. Specifically, we consider the extent to which a plaintiffs contingent fee agreement with her attorney limits or affects the award of a reasonable attorney’s fee. Collaterally, we address whether a reasonable attorney’s fee awarded under a state fee-shifting statute must necessarily be proportion ate to the damages recovered in…