Ind. Marion Cnty. Small Cl. Local Rule LR49-SC00-502

A. Attorney’s fees shall not be awarded, unless such fees are authorized by law or contract. The

party seeking attorney’s fees shall support its request with evidence of the legal authority for the

fees, the number of hours reasonably spent on the case, the hourly rate for those persons providing

legal and/or paralegal services and any other fact relevant to the reasonableness of the requested fee.

The parties may present evidence in the form of a sworn affidavit. Attorney fees may only be

claimed for services provided for a particular case, provided that in those instances, when time spent

on more than one case can be with reasonable accuracy apportioned among the cases, such

apportioned time may be compensated.

B. In determining the amount of the fee, the Court shall consider:

1. time reasonably and actually expended on the case up to the date the request is heard or

decided;

2. factors enumerated at Rule 1.5 of the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct;

3. the amount of the fee in relation to the amount of damages sought; and

4. any other circumstance bearing on the “reasonableness” of the fee.

C. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a reasonable attorney fee for a small claims case

other than an eviction proceeding resulting in a judgment between $1.00 and $499.99 shall be

$300.00. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a reasonable attorney fee for a small claims

case other than an eviction proceeding resulting in a judgment between $500.00 and $999.99 shall be

$400.00. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a reasonable attorney fee for a small claims

case other than an eviction proceeding resulting in a judgment between $1,000.00 and $3,499.99

shall be $450.00. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a reasonable attorney fee for a small

claims case other than an eviction proceeding resulting in a judgment between $3,500.00 and

$5,999.99 shall be $550.00. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a reasonable attorney fee

for a small claims case other than an eviction proceeding resulting in a judgment between $6,000.00

and $8,000.00 shall be $650.00.

D. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that prosecution of an eviction proceeding in a small

claims court requires 2.5 hours of time and service and that a reasonable attorney fee for this time

and service is $500.00. This fee shall be inclusive of time and service incurred to recover

compensation for damages and unpaid rent.

E. A party seeking attorney fees is not limited to the presumptive attorney fee and may request fees

in excess of the presumptive fee by submitting an attorney fee affidavit in compliance with section A

above. A party who opposes a presumptive attorney fee may require itemization of time and service

as required by section A above. A party who seeks a presumptive attorney fee under section C or D

shall not be required to itemize time and service unless the request is challenged by the other party.

F. The Marion County Small Claims Judges shall review this rule every four years to determine

whether or not the presumptive fees should be adjusted due to economic changes.

Comment: The purposes of the proposed amendment are two- fold. The MC Small Claims Courts

have observed divergent practices and policies for determining “reasonable attorney’s fees”. The

first purpose is then to promote uniformity on this subject to establish a baseline for the MC Small

Claims Courts to determine attorney fees and to bring about a consistent policy in which attorneys

and litigants can follow.

The second purpose of the amendment is to clarify that the courts are obliged to consider a wide

variety of factors other than the amount of attorney time spent on the case. The amendment

incorporates by reference Rule 1.5 of the Rules of Professional Conduct which lists no less than 8

factors. The list is not, however, exhaustive.

(Adopted Apr. 5, 2016, effective July 1, 2016)