Larry Walther

Summary

The court held that sovereign immunity did not bar an attorney-fee award because the State had transferred the relevant funds to a private entity and no longer exercised sovereignty over them. It further held that Wilson's successful public-funds litigation conferred a substantial benefit on taxpayers, permitting an exception to the American Rule, but remanded for the circuit court to determine a reasonable fee using the recognized fee factors rather than automatically awarding one-third of the remaining funds. Chief Justice Kemp and Justice Womack dissented, with Kemp disputing the sovereign-immunity analysis and Womack concluding that the alleged contingency-fee agreement was unenforceable.