Kennison v. Mayfield 2021WL978474 (Ga. App. March 16, 2021) reaffirmed that a party seeking attorney's fees under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-68 must prove those fees by introducing evidence of hours, rates, or some other indication of the value of the professional services actually rendered. Evidence of a contingent fee contract without more is not sufficient to support an award of attorney's fees. A contingency fee agreement is not necessarily a reflection of the value of professional services actually rendered.
The Court also stated it was not requiring tenth of an hour record keeping as in matters billed by the hour. Instead, it noted that at least a review of the preparation, discovery, motions practice, and hearings that occurred after the settlement offer can determine a reasonable value of the services rendered over the course of those events based on hourly rates generally accepted in comparable cases.