Rule Text
In all cases where the court is authorized under applicable law to fix the amount of counsel fees it shall consider, among other things, the following factors:
(1) the time and effort reasonably expended by the attorney in the litigation;
(2) the quality of the services rendered;
(3) the results achieved and benefits conferred upon the class or upon the public;
(4) the magnitude, complexity and uniqueness of the litigation; and
(5) whether the receipt of a fee was contingent on success.
Amendment history: The provisions of this Rule 1716 adopted June 30, 1977, effective September 1, 1977, 7 Pa.B. 1956; renumbered as Rule 1717 May 11, 2012, effective July 1, 2012, 42 Pa.B. 2954. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (253388).
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
When a judge has the power to decide how much a lawyer gets paid in a case, they cannot just pick a random number. They have to look at specific factors to figure out a fair amount.
The judge will look at how much time and work the lawyer put in, how well they did their job, and what the client or the public gained from the case. The judge will also think about how complicated the case was and whether the lawyer only got paid if they won.
This rule mostly comes up in class action lawsuits, where one lawyer represents a large group of people. Since the lawyer negotiates the fee with the court rather than with each person individually, these rules help make sure the payment is fair for everyone involved.
Committee Notes
The rule does not determine when fees may be awarded. That is a matter of substantive law.
The order in which the factors are listed is not intended to indicate the priority or weight to be accorded them respectively.
The Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure governing class actions, promulgated June 30, 1977, and effective September 1, 1977, are the culmination of more than a two-year study of a vast array of resource material embodying practically every point of view. The role and purpose of class actions in modern society, particularly those involving consumer actions or other types of actions involving many thousands of members with potential for vast amount of damage claims, has caused more debate and roused more passion than practically any other subject in the preceding decade.
Some look upon it as the most effective tool for the protection of individual rights in every field, rights which could not be effectively asserted by individual actions. They consider action by public officials to protect these rights to be inadequate; the attorneys for the class are deemed in effect private attorneys general spurred on by the prospect of substantial fees contingent upon the successful outcome of the action. Others characterize class actions as affording the opportunity for legalized blackmail, forcing defendants into tactical positions where surrender by settlement, even in non-meritorious cases, often becomes the most expeditious course of terminating the litigation.
The Committee has tried to ignore these polemics and to consider the matter objectively recognizing that sharp differences of opinion will necessarily exist. Many desirable approaches to class action problems involve substantive rather than procedural solutions. The new Uniform Class Action Act approved by the Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in August 1976 which was carefully studied by the Committee presents a number of substantive solutions. These are beyond the power of the Procedural Rules.
In broad outline the Committee has attempted to retain all the best features of Federal Rule 23 excluding those which seem inappropriate or unsuccessful and all the best features of the Uniform Class Action Act. The Committee also has included novel provisions not found in the Federal Rule or in the Uniform Class Action Act. These combinations should simplify and improve class actions in Pennsylvania.
