Smith v. City of Austin

I respectfully note my dissent. I would sustain appellants’ second point of error by which appellants claim that the trial court abused its discretion in refusing to award lump sum attorneys’ fees. I have no quarrel with the rule that a trial judge has discretion independent of the jury in workers’ compensation death benefits cases to determine both the amount and the method of payment of the beneficiary’s attorneys’ fees. I do not agree with the holding made by the majority that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to award lump sum attorneys’ fees.

The posture of this…