Easement Issues

[t_bell40]

My question involves a consumer law issue in the State of: Michigan

Good Morning, I am wondering about an attorney bill I incurred yesterday. I talked to this local attorney in his office for 30min one day last week. I brought him all the paper work I have on this "easement issue." There was little or no foot work that had to be done as I have extensive paper work covering everything.
When I got to his office yesterday to pick up my paper work, there was a bill for 250 dollars. He had bill for 1hr and 15min at 200 an hour.
This attorney told me one day after looking everything over that all the power was on my side and that it should be easy to get the corner of my property back from the squatters. The next day he said "Nope, prescribed easement." Like a legal squatters rights thing. Really sad.
So, I went there with one problem , now I have 2. I don't agree with this bill as there was nothing mentioned about fees or being on the clock until I show up to pick up all the paperwork I have on it and there is a piece of paper sitting there with 250.00 due on it. ??? I initially didn't question it but as I got home and thought about it , that can't be right , ?? Is it ?? Don't attorneys tell you up front their costs and when you are on the clock ????

[PayrolGuy]

Did you expect the lawyer to work for free?

[t_bell40]

What work ?? Google should attorneys just charge you out of the blue for fees. It will tell you that fees should be discussed early on in the process. There was no discussion of fees / rates anything. I'm sending you a bill now having told you that. Is that ok ??

[PayrolGuy]

Yes, you should have been notified of the hourly rate but there was certainly work done if it was just spending 30 minutes talking to you and the time spent reading what you brought.

[t_bell40]

Sorry, most of us working stiffs don't have a pleasure of talking to an attorney every day and therefore are unfamiliar with when you are or are not on the clock. That should be right up front and personal from the get go. National Bar recommends it.
I'm a tv repair man for example. You drop a tv off and I call you up and say its ready......1000 bucks. What you going to say

[MiddlePart]

Sure. The attorney should bring up the subject of fees. And the client should be asking about fees. Either or both of those things should happen at the beginning of the arrangement. No-one really disagrees with that.

The question you're asking is what happens if no-one brings up the subject.

The attorney is entitled to be paid for his services -- which, ordinarily, is his time spent on the matter. $200/hour doesn't seem outrageous, but it's a question of what the local market for attorney services is. In some cities, $200 would be a very low rate; but I suppose it might be high in some towns.

If you think the bill is too high -- consider having another lawyer look at it to let you know whether it really is out-of-whack with local rates or in respect of the quantity of work performed. Or just have a discussion with the lawyer about reducing the bill.

In your TV repairman example: if you didn't give the customer an estimate when he dropped off his TV, and if the customer didn't ask about the cost before he left it with you, would he get the repairs done for free? Clearly not.

[budwad]

My question involves a consumer law issue in the State of: Michigan

Good Morning, I am wondering about an attorney bill I incurred yesterday. I talked to this local attorney in his office for 30min one day last week. I brought him all the paper work I have on this "easement issue." There was little or no foot work that had to be done as I have extensive paper work covering everything.
When I got to his office yesterday to pick up my paper work, there was a bill for 250 dollars. He had bill for 1hr and 15min at 200 an hour.
This attorney told me one day after looking everything over that all the power was on my side and that it should be easy to get the corner of my property back from the squatters. The next day he said "Nope, prescribed easement." Like a legal squatters rights thing. Really sad.
So, I went there with one problem , now I have 2. I don't agree with this bill as there was nothing mentioned about fees or being on the clock until I show up to pick up all the paperwork I have on it and there is a piece of paper sitting there with 250.00 due on it. ??? I initially didn't question it but as I got home and thought about it , that can't be right , ?? Is it ?? Don't attorneys tell you up front their costs and when you are on the clock ????

What is your easement issue?

[t_bell40]

Easement was improperly installed. It starts on the neighbor granting the easement and meanders over onto my property. The attorney is saying it is a prescribed easement on my property as it has been happening for over 15yrs. I just recently had a house built on the property. It was vacant land before that with trees. I didn't realize how much of my property was being used until I had a survey done. Attorney is saying you bought the property over 15 yr ago and should have done something about it then. I'm saying the new house should play into it somewhere but, guess not. Basically squatters rights.

[PayrolGuy]

Your new house nothing to do with it.

[budwad]

Easement was improperly installed. It starts on the neighbor granting the easement and meanders over onto my property. The attorney is saying it is a prescribed easement on my property as it has been happening for over 15yrs. I just recently had a house built on the property. It was vacant land before that with trees. I didn't realize how much of my property was being used until I had a survey done. Attorney is saying you bought the property over 15 yr ago and should have done something about it then. I'm saying the new house should play into it somewhere but, guess not. Basically squatters rights.

What your attorney is telling you is that in Michigan a person can obtain a prescriptive easement by using your property for 15 years. You did nothing to stop the trespass and thus, the trespasser has established an easement on your property even though it was not a granted easement.

Now you have to live with it. It is encumbered upon a property owner to protect their property rights and when they don't, they lose them. You building a new house does not effect your lost rights.