p. 1096(Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department.Headnote
Attorney and Client—Termination oe Services.Application of a client to terminate services of her attorneys, she desiring to end the litigation, should be granted on condition of a reference to take proof of the compensation to which they are entitled and on payment thereof.
Appeal from Special Term, New York County.
Application of Ella M. Cable to restrain Henry W. Sackett and others from acting as her attorneys. From an order denying her application, she appeals.
Argued before O’BRIEN, P. J„ and McEAUGHEIN, EAUGHLIN, CLARKE, and HOUGHTON, JJ.J. Aspinwall Hodge, for appellant;
Edward E. Stevens, for respondents.
We assume the rule to be settled that a client may terminate the employment of attorneys at pleasure, or the attorney may do so upon reasonable notice. Bathgate v. Haskin, 59 N. Y. 533 . Where the client, however, desires to dispense with the sérvices, it should only be upon protecting the attorney to the extent of services already performed. We therefore think that the order in this case should not have been denied upon the ground that the petitioner’s remedy was to move for substitution of attorneys, because that would not give her the relief which she desired, which was to end the litigation; and if she substituted new attorneys, she would have -to make the same request of them, and if they refused there
p. 1097would be the same result. The simple and direct procedure would have been to grant the application upon condition that the matter be referred to some suitable person to take proof as to the amount of compensation to which the attorneys are entitled, and, upon payment thereof, that they should, if requested by the client, discontinue the action, or, at least, not proceed further with the litigation.
The order should be accordingly modified, and, as so modified, affirmed, without costs.