What is the test for determining attorney's fees in a personal injury case?

Illustrative of the factors to be considered by a trial court are those recited in Serrano v. Priest, supra, 20 Cal.3d 25, 141 Cal.Rptr. 315, 569 P.2d 1303. They include: the number of hours spent on the case, reasonable hourly compensation for the attorney, the novelty and difficulty of the questions involved, the skill displayed in presenting them, the extent to which the litigation precluded other employment by the attorney, and the contingent nature of the fee award. (Id., at pp. 48-49, 141 Cal.Rptr. 315, 569 P.2d 1303.) While the provisions of a contract which create no liability for fees on the part of the client under certain circumstances may preclude an award of fees (where such fees are an item of costs), it does not follow that the fees awarded must necessarily equal the full amount of the client's obligation when the contact is enforceable.

[151 Cal.App.3d 522] The amount to be awarded as attorney's fees is left to the sound discretion of the trial court. The trial judge is in the best position to evaluate the services rendered by an attorney in his courtroom; his judgment will not be disturbed on review unless it is clearly wrong. (Mandel v. Hodges (1976) 54 Cal.App.3d 596, 624, 127 Cal.Rptr. 244.)

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