Divorce Attorney’s Lien for Survives Collection Challenge

Tennessee case summary on attorney’s liens in divorce.

Bradi M. Baker-Brunkhorst v. Geoffrey B. Brunkhorst

After less than five years of marriage, the wife in this Madison County, Tennessee, case filed for divorce in 2015.  After her first attorney withdrew from the case, the new law firm’s employment agreement allowed it to place a lien on any assets recovered or preserved in the divorce action.

The parties entered into a marital dissolution agreement that covered two properties.  The husband was to pay $115,000, and the wife was to sign a quitclaim deed.  The husband died a few months later, without having made the payment, and without the wife’s having signed the quitclaim deed.

The law firm filed a notice of its lien with the county registrar’s office, requesting a lien against the properties.  Ultimately, the divorce court awarded the law firm a judgment, and granted its motion to perfect and enforce the lien.

The administrator of the husband’s estate then objected, and asked for the earlier ruling to be set aside.  The motion was denied, and the estate appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The Court of Appeals denied the appeal.  It noted that the attorney’s lien attaches to any property flowing from a judgment, as long as the lawyer worked to secure that judgment.  That requirement had been met in this case.

The appeals court noted that the motion to reopen was not proper, since it was not premised on a change in controlling law, previously unavailable evidence, or clear error of law.  Therefore, the trial court property let the previous judgment stand.

The Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s judgment and assessed the costs of appeal against the estate.

No. W2020-00154-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Feb. 22,  2021).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see The Tennessee Divorce Process: How Divorces Work Start to Finish.