Court Upholds Constitutionality of Attorney Fee Cap

The North Carolina Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected a constitutional challenge to the state's statutory cap on the amount a claimant attorney can take as a payment for his services from the amount his client has recovered from a third-party tortfeasor.In a unanimous panel decision by Judge Douglas McCullough, the court ruled that the North Carolina Industrial Commission properly limited attorney Curtis Osborne to recovering no more than 33 and 1/3% of Michael Tinsley's award from a negligent driver whose vehicle had collided with Tinsley's, even though Osborne's retainer ag...