Carson City District Court Judge James Russell dismissed arguments against a ballot initiative in Nevada that would cap attorney contingency fees at 20%, ruling that the initiative complies with state requirements. The ruling was disclosed in a May 10 court filing in the First Judicial District Court of the State of Nevada.
The political action committee, Nevadans for Fair Recovery, filed the ballot initiative with the aim of protecting plaintiffs’ judgements, according to a press release from the committee.
According to the initiative, it would revise Title 1, Chapter 7 of the Nevada Revised Statutes to add a section stating: "For causes of action arising after January 1, 2027, an attorney shall not contract for or collect a fee contingent on the amount of recovery for representing a person seeking damages in a civil case in excess of twenty percent of the amount of recovery." The proposed 20% cap would apply to "all forms of recovery, including, without limitation, settlement, arbitration and judgment."
Judge Russell ruled that the initiative meets Nevada’s requirements that ballot initiatives can only focus on one subject and provides both the full text of the proposed measure and its description. He noted that there is currently no limit on attorney contingency fees for most civil cases in Nevada aside from them being required to be "reasonable," with medical malpractice cases being an exception where there is a 35% cap. Russell rejected challenges against the initiative and dismissed complaints against it with prejudice.
In Nevada, attorneys typically charge contingency fees between 30% and 40%, meaning they take between 30-40% of any money awarded to their clients in lawsuits. This information comes from De Castroverde Law Group.
Russell is a U.S. Army veteran serving as District Court Judge of the First Judicial District Court of Nevada, according to information from the Carson City website. He was appointed to his position in 2007 after serving as a Law Clerk at the Nevada Supreme Court, as a Deputy Attorney General for the State of Nevada, and in private practice.