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PA Justices Consider Attorney Fees as Loss Under UTPCPL

September 25, 2014 | Posted in : Fee Jurisprudence

A recent Legal Intelligencer, “Justices Eye Counsel Fees as Loss Under UTPCPL,” reports that in a case before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Grimes v. Enterprise Leasing, an attorney argued that allowing the costs associated with retaining counsel to count as ascertainable loss under the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (UTPCPL) would lead to a “cottage industry” of “private attorneys general.”

Fox Rothschild attorney Abraham C. Reich, who represents the defendant rental company said that allowing a case to go forward where attorney fees are the only damages would lead attorneys to start looking for potential claims and then file on behalf of individuals, claiming their fees as the only losses.  "Voluntary expenses" aren't ascertainable loss, Reich told the justices during the oral argument session.

According to court records, Grimes rented a vehicle from Enterprise Leasing and agreed that if the vehicle was damaged during the rental period she would pay for repairs, loss of use, diminution of value and administrative costs. 

She returned the vehicle with a 10-to-12 inch scratch along the body, and was notified by Enterprise that the total cost would be $840.  Four months later, Grimes filed a counterclaim, alleging that deceptively inflated fees fell into the UTPCPL’s catch-all provision, and that the legal fees she incurred to fight the charges constituted an ascertainable loss.