Attorney fees
August 23, 2009 | 20,00 EUR | answered by Dr. Dr. Danjel-Philippe Newerla
Subject: Review of my lawyer's invoice:
Fee No. 2400 Business fee in social law matters (§3RVG): €240 net
Fee No. 7002 Lump sum charges for postal and telecommunications services: €20 net
Total: €260 excluding VAT
I was only informed over the phone that this is a lump sum fee. No further explanation was provided.
Question: Is the calculation of this amount and without explanation with these fee numbers according to the RVG legal?
Background:
I had hired a lawyer to conduct an extrajudicial appeal against the termination of my wife's sickness benefit by the health insurance company. The lawyer wrote 3 letters to the health insurance company and informed me about the progress of the case and the final result (rejection) (a total of 4 letters). The process took 4 months because the insurance company conducted a thorough review.
Dear inquirer,
Thank you for your inquiry!
I would like to address your question as follows, taking into consideration the information provided and the effort you have made:
The fees you have mentioned are completely justified. The invoice does not need to contain a reasoning. Below, I have attached the relevant provision from the RVG that you have already cited:
"2400 Business fee in social law matters in which framework fees arise in judicial proceedings (§ 3 RVG). A fee of more than 240.00 EUR can only be demanded if the activity was extensive or difficult."
The fee of 240.00 EUR, according to the structure of the RVG (as stated above), is a so-called standard fee. This means that in a normal difficult and extensive matter, 240.00 EUR are to be remunerated for the extrajudicial activity of the lawyer.
In social law matters, the fee range is 40.00 - 520.00 EUR, so 240.00 EUR is the so-called standard fee.
Based on your description (appeal procedure with a total of 4 letters), the matter was even relatively extensive, so the standard fee was rightly applied. The flat fee of 20 EUR and the collection of value-added tax are also completely legitimate and not objectionable.
I would like to point out the following to you:
The legal advice I have provided is based solely on the information you have provided. My response is only an initial legal assessment of the situation, which cannot replace a comprehensive evaluation of the facts. Adding or omitting relevant information can lead to a completely different legal assessment.
I hope my explanation has been helpful to you. You are welcome to contact me via my email address or the follow-up option.
I wish you a pleasant Sunday evening!
Best regards,
Dipl.-Jur. Danjel-Philippe Newerla, Attorney at Law
Heilsbergerstr. 16
27580 Bremerhaven
kanzlei.newerla@web.de
Tel. 0471/3088132
Fax: 0471/3088316
