Facts: Husband and Wife divorced after less than five years of marriage.

Wife signed a contract that allowed her attorneys to place a lien on her assets to secure the payment of her attorney’s fees.

The parties entered into a marital dissolution agreement that required Wife to execute quitclaim deeds to two pieces of real estate, in exchange for which Husband would pay $115,000 in four installments over 12 months.

Four months after their divorce, and before the quitclaim deeds were executed or installment payments were made, Husband died.

The following week, Wife’s former attorneys filed their attorney’s lien and attached it to the two pieces of real estate.

The administrator of Husband’s estate asked the trial court to release the attorney’s lien from the two properties because the marital dissolution agreement awarded those properties to Husband.

The trial court found the lien to be valid and enforceable. It further ordered Husband’s estate to sell the properties.

The administrator of Husband’s estate filed a Rule 59.04 motion to alter or amend the judgment that requested reconsideration of the trial court’s finding that the attorney’s lien was valid and enforceable.

Finding that the administrator presented no newly discovered evidence not already known or presented to the court during the hearing, the trial court denied the motion and upheld its previous ruling that the attorney’s lien was valid and enforceable.

The Administrator appealed.

On Appeal: The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court.

A charging lien is premised on a lawyer’s equitable right to have the fees and costs due for the lawyer’s services in a particular action secured by the judgment or recovery in that action.

Tennessee Code Annotated § 23-2-102 and -103 supply the statutory authority for attorney’s liens.

A trial court should grant a Rule 59.04 motion to alter or amend when the controlling law changes before the judgment becomes final, when previously unavailable evidence becomes available, to correct a clear error of law, or to prevent injustice.

The administrator argued there was no legal basis to allow Wife’s attorneys to file an attorney’s lien against properties awarded to Husband in the divorce.

The Court found there was no basis to conclude the trial court abused its discretion in denying the motion to alter or amend:

The facts are largely undisputed. Wife signed a contract allowing [her lawyers’ firm] to satisfy its claim for attorney’s fees by placing a lien on any property, money, or assets recovered in the divorce. Although Wife was to convey her interest in the [] properties to Husband and Husband was to pay Wife the equity in the properties, Husband died before Wife conveyed her interest in the properties to him. Thus, Husband and Wife still owned the [] properties as tenants by the entirety at the time of Husband’s death, and Husband still owed Wife the equity in the properties. Moreover, although each had a contractual duty that survives Husband’s death, upon Husband’s death, Wife continued to own the whole in fee simple. Accordingly, Wife owned the [] properties when [her lawyers’ firm] filed and recorded its lien.

It is undisputed that [Wife’s lawyers’ firm] secured for Wife the equity in the [] properties and that Husband failed to remit any of the installment payments required by the MDA and final divorce decree. Moreover, Wife remained an owner of the properties at all material times. As previously stated, an attorney’s lien attaches to any proceeds flowing from a judgment as long as the lawyer worked to secure the judgment for the client. Therefore, the trial court correctly found that [Wife’s lawyers’ firm] secured for Wife the equity in the [] properties and that neither Husband nor Husband’s estate paid the equity in the properties to Wife.

The Court affirmed the trial court’s decision to deny the administrator’s Rule 59.04 motion.

Baker-Brunkhorst v. Brunkhorst (Tennessee Court of Appeals, Western Section, February 22, 2021).

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