Both Atty. Dibaratun and Atty. Ballelos posited that their entitlement to attorney’s fees was contingent. Yet, a contract for a contingent fees is an agreement in writing by which the fees, usually a fixed percentage of what may be recovered in the action, are made to depend upon the success in the effort to enforce or defend a supposed right. Contingent fees depend upon an express contract, without which the attorney can only recover on the basis of quantum meruit.[71] With neither Atty. Dibaratun nor Atty. Ballelos presenting a written agreement bearing upon their supposed contingent fees, the only way to determine their right to appropriate attorney’s fees is to apply the principle of quantum meruit.
Quantum meruit – literally meaning as much as he deserves – is used as basis for determining an attorney’s professional fees in the absence of an express agreement.[72] The recovery of attorney’s fees on the basis of quantum meruit is a device that prevents an unscrupulous client from running away with the fruits of the legal services of counsel without paying for it and also avoids unjust enrichment on the part of the attorney himself.[73] An attorney must show that he is entitled to reasonable compensation for the effort in pursuing the client’s cause, taking into account certain factors in fixing the amount of legal fees.[74]
Rule 20.01 of the Code of Professional Responsibility lists the guidelines for determining the proper amount of attorney fees, to wit:
Rule 20.1 – A lawyer shall be guided by the following factors in determining his fees:
a) The time spent and the extent of the services rendered or required;
b) The novelty and difficult of the questions involved;
c) The important of the subject matter;
d) The skill demanded;
e) The probability of losing other employment as a result of acceptance of the proffered case;
f) The customary charges for similar services and the schedule of fees of the IBP chapter to which he belongs;
g) The amount involved in the controversy and the benefits resulting to the client from the service;
h) The contingency or certainty of compensation;
i) The character of the employment, whether occasional or established; and
j) The professional standing of the lawyer.
In the event of a dispute as to the amount of fees between the attorney and his client, and the intervention of the courts is sought, the determination requires that there be evidence to prove the amount of fees and the extent and value of the services rendered, taking into account the facts determinative thereof.[75] Ordinarily, therefore, the determination of the attorney’s fees onquantum meruit is remanded to the lower court for the purpose. However, it will be just and equitable to now assess and fix the attorney’s fees of both attorneys in order that the resolution of “a comparatively simple controversy,” as Justice Regalado put it inTraders Royal Bank Employees Union-Independent v. NLRC,[76] would not be needlessly prolonged, by taking into due consideration the accepted guidelines and so much of the pertinent data as are extant in the records.
Atty. Dibaratun and Atty. Ballelos each claimed attorney’s fees equivalent to 15% of the principal award of P113,532,500.00, which was the amount granted by the RTC in its decision. Considering that the attorney’s fees will be defrayed by the Heirs of Macabangkit out of their actual recovery from NPC, giving to each of the two attorney’s 15% of the principal award as attorney’s fees would be excessive and unconscionable from the point of view of the clients. Thus, the Court, which holds and exercises the power to fix attorney’s fees on a quantum meruit basis in the absence of an express written agreement between the attorney and the client, now fixes attorney’s fees at 10% of the principal award of P113,532,500.00.
Whether it is Atty. Dibaratun or Atty. Ballelos, or both, who should receive attorney’s fees from the Heirs of Macabangkit is a question that the Court must next determine and settle by considering the amount and quality of the work each performed and the results each obtained.
Atty. Dibaratun, the attorney from the outset, unquestionably carried the bulk of the legal demands of the case. He diligently prepared and timely filed in behalf of the Heirs of Macabangkit every pleading and paper necessary in the full resolution of the dispute, starting from the complaint until the very last motion filed in this Court. He consistently appeared during the trial, and examined and cross-examined all the witnesses presented at that stage of the proceedings. The nature, character, and substance of each pleading and the motions he prepared for the Heirs of Macabangkit indicated that he devoted substantial time and energy in researching and preparing the case for the trial. He even advanced P250,000.00 out of his own pocket to defray expenses from the time of the filing of the motion to execute pending appeal until the case reached the Court.[77] His representation of all the Heirs of Macabangkit was not denied by any of them.
We note that Atty. Dibaratun possessed some standing in the legal profession and in his local community. He formerly served as a member of the Board of Director of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), Lanao del Norte-Iligan City Chapter, and was an IBP national awardee as Best Legal Aid Committee Chairman. He taught at Mindanao State University College of Law Extension. He was a Municipal Mayor of Matungao, Lanao del Norte, and was enthroned Sultan a Gaus.
In contrast, not much about the character and standing of Atty. Ballelos, as well as the nature and quality of the legal services he rendered for the Heirs of Macabangkit are in the records. The motions he filed in the
Court and in the CA lacked enlightening research and were insignificant to the success of the clients’ cause. His legal service, if it can be called that, manifested no depth or assiduousness, judging from the quality of the pleadings from him. His written submissions in the case appeared either to have been lifted verbatim from the pleadings previously filed by Atty. Dibaratun, or to have been merely quoted from the decisions and resolutions of the RTC and the CA. Of the Heirs of Macabangkit, only Cebu, Batowa-an, Sayana, Nasser, Manta, Mongkoy[78] and Edgar gave their consent to Atty. Ballelos to appear in their behalf in the CA, which he did despite Atty. Dibaratun not having yet filed any withdrawal of his appearance. The Court did not receive any notice of appearance for the Heirs of Macabangkit from Atty. Ballelos, but that capacity has meanwhile become doubtful in the face of Amir’s strong denial of having retained him.
In fairness and justice, the Court accords full recognition to Atty. Dibaratun as the counsel de parte of the Heirs of Macabangkit who discharged his responsibility in the prosecution of the clients’ cause to its successful end. It is he, not Atty. Ballelos, who was entitled to the full amount of attorney’s fees that the clients ought to pay to their attorney. Given the amount and quality of his legal work, his diligence and the time he expended in ensuring the success of his prosecution of the clients’ cause, he deserves the recognition, notwithstanding that some of the clients might appear to have retained Atty. Ballelos after the rendition of a favorable judgment.[79]
Atty. Ballelos may claim only from Cebu, Batowa-an, Sayana, Nasser, Manta and Edgar, the only parties who engaged him. The Court considers his work in the case as very minimal. His compensation under the quantum meruit principle is fixed atP5,000.00, and only the Heirs of Macabangkit earlier named are liable to him.
