Two recent state appellate court rulings have concluded that fee experts are necessary to prove the reasonableness of attorney fees and costs in court awarded attorney fee awards:

In Ohio's, Fischer v. Phillip, in an affidavit, Phillips provided an expert opinion that his representation had not breached the standard of care, and that the $15,000 retainer was a reasonable fee that was based on his specialized knowledge, professional skill and judgment.  Fincher filed a brief in opposition to the fee motion, but failed to furnish any contrary expert testimony in support of his claim of unreasonable attorney fees.  The trial court ruled in favor of Phillips in light of Fincher’s failure to produce an expert report.  The Ohio appellate court, however, concluded “the determination of legal fees involves several factors including the time and labor required, the difficulty of the issues involved, and the requisite skill needed to provide the legal service.  This is not within the knowledge of laymen.  Establishing [a claim] for charging excessive [attorney] fees clearly necessitates expert testimony.”

In Florida's, Sourcetrack, LLC v. Ariba, Inc., the court struck a $302,000 fee award because the party entitled to fees failed to present any expert testimony regarding the reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees.  The Florida appellate court conclude, “the trial court erred by awarding fees without competent, substantial evidence to support a[n] [fee] award.  There is currently some debate about whether trial judges should be given greater latitude to award attorney’s fees without always receiving expert testimony from attorneys uninvolved in the case.  This court, however, continues to require such testimony.”