Alicia Hickok Quoted in September 2015 The Legal Intelligencer
Philadelphia partner Alicia Hickok was quoted in a Legal Intelligencer article titled, “Fee Sanctions Must Be Filed Soon After Final Order.” The article discussed the Commonwealth Court’s recent ruling that a petition for sanctions seeking counsel fees must be filed within 30 days of a trial court’s final order in the case.
Alicia was concerned that the decision would hinder judicial economy, because if conduct occurred during the course of an appeal, a party would need to file a separate petition for attorneys’ fees for each instance.
“I don’t think [the decision] changes the fact that there … could be conduct on the appeal itself that is separately compensable by attorney fees,” said Alicia. She also observed that attorneys that had not filed within thirty days might be prompted instead to file a Dragonetti action, which likewise leads to judicial inefficiency.