ALPERT, GOLDBERG, BUTLER, NORTON & WEISS, P.C.,
n/k/a Alpert Butler & Weiss, P.C., Plaintiff-
Respondent, v. MICHAEL QUINN, MARITA QUINN and QUINN-
WOODBINE REALTY & LEASING CO., L.L.C., Defendants-
Appellants
A-5503-07T2
11-24-09
We hold in this attorney-fee collection action the
following: (1) given the unique relationship between an
attorney and a client, the fiduciary duty owed by an attorney to
a client, and the need for a client to have complete information
at the time of retention concerning the fees, charges, and
obligations to be owed by a client to the attorney, R.P.C.
1.5(b) requires an attorney to present a client the attorney has
not regularly represented, in writing, at the time of retention,
all of the fees and costs for which the client will be charged,
as well as the terms and conditions upon which the fees and
costs will be imposed; (2) we adopt Williston's principles that
in order for a contract to properly incorporate by reference a
separate document, the document to be incorporated must be
described in such terms that its identity may be ascertained
beyond doubt and the party to be bound by the terms must have
had "knowledge of and assented to the incorporated terms"; (3)
the failure to conduct a case management conference pursuant to
Ferreira v. Rancocas Orthopedic Assocs., 178 N.J. 144 (2003), in
a malpractice action does not toll the timeframes set forth in
the Affidavit of Merit statute; and (4) Rule 1:4-8(d)(2)
compensates a party, represented by an attorney or appearing pro
se, for the reasonable legal fees and expenses the party
actually incurred as a result of an adversary's frivolous claim
and, therefore, an attorney appearing pro se is not entitled to
fees unless the fees are actually incurred as opposed to
imputed.
