Court sides with attorney in pay dispute

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While it may have rejected a West Allis man’s objection to a circuit court decision ordering him to pay a lawyer for legal advice, a state appeals court says the man’s appeal was not frivolous.

The court’s ruling Wednesday stems from an appeal made by Dennis Krizan, who was ordered March 2 to pay $1,000 to Oshkosh attorney John Kelly for advice he received in 2014.

Kelly sued Krizan in 2014 after Krizan refused to pay for legal advice he received involving a dispute with a neighbor.

According to court documents, Krizan first contacted Kelly by email on May 26, 2014, spoke with him on the phone for 30 minutes on May 29, 2014, then exchanged a number of emails thereafter until June 6. The communication between May 26, 2014, and June 6, 2014, were all regarding Krizan’s dispute with his neighbor. However, Krizan refused to pay the $2,059 Kelly billed him for on June 13, 2014. Kelly, in his response, noted that thought he’d been hired the day of the phone call.

Kelly filed a small claims lawsuit against Krizan for the $2,059, and Krizan responded by filing a $10,000 counterclaim, which Kelly claimed was frivolous. A court commissioner sided with Kelly and ordered Krizan to pay the bill plus costs.

Krizan then sought de novo review from the Winnebago County Circuit Court, which also found for Kelly but ordered Krizan to pay $1,000 plus costs instead of $2,059. The trial court noted that counterclaim was indeed frivolous but denied Kelly attorney’s fees because he was representing himself.

The District 2 Court of Appeals on Wednesday affirmed the trial court, noting that Krizan made no legal arguments on appeal.

Kelly appealed for a determination that Krizan’s appeal was frivolous, but the court did not grant it because it said the appeal was not filed to harass or was legally unwarranted. Follow @erikastrebel