Can a North Carolina lawyer advance money to a personal injury client for a rental car to get to medical appointments?

Plain-English summary

A lawyer representing a personal injury client asked whether he could advance money so the client, who lacked transportation, could rent a car to get to and from medical appointments. The committee answered no on the facts presented.

The opinion applied Rule 1.8(e), which barred a lawyer from providing financial assistance to a client in connection with pending or contemplated litigation, except that the lawyer could advance court costs and expenses of litigation, including medical examinations and the cost of obtaining and presenting evidence, with the client ultimately liable for those costs. The committee drew a line between litigation expenses, which could be advanced, and living expenses, which could not. Money for a rental car used over an extended period was a living expense even if the car was occasionally used to reach medical appointments connected to the injury.

The opinion concluded that a lawyer could advance only the actual costs of transportation associated with the litigation or with medical examinations, giving as examples an occasional cab or bus fare and, where reasonable given the distance, the cost of a rental car for a single trip or an airplane fare.

Currency note

An editor's note on the official page states that Rule 1.8(e)(1) was amended in 2003 in a way that supersedes this opinion. This opinion was issued in 2001, before North Carolina's adoption of the 2003 revisions to the Rules of Professional Conduct, and it cites the rule numbering then in effect. Treat this page as historical context only, not current guidance, and verify the current text of Rule 1.8(e) and any later opinions before relying on any specific limit described here.

Common questions

Q: Could the lawyer pay for the client's rental car to reach medical appointments?

A: Not for an extended rental. The opinion treated a rental car used over an extended period as a living expense outside Rule 1.8(e), even if the car was occasionally used to reach injury-related medical appointments.

Q: What transportation costs could the lawyer advance?

A: The opinion allowed advancing the actual costs of litigation-related or medical-examination transportation, such as an occasional cab or bus fare, or, when reasonable given the distance, a single rental-car trip or an airplane fare.

Q: What was the line the committee drew?

A: The opinion distinguished litigation expenses, which Rule 1.8(e) permitted a lawyer to advance with the client ultimately liable, from living expenses, which it did not.

Background and rules framework

The opinion interpreted North Carolina Rule 1.8(e) of the Revised Rules of Professional Conduct, the analogue to Model Rule 1.8(e), which limited a lawyer's financial assistance to a client in connection with litigation to advances of court costs and litigation expenses, with the client remaining ultimately liable. An editor's note records that Rule 1.8(e)(1) was amended in 2003.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• MR 1.8(e) (financial assistance to a client) / NC Rule 1.8(e)

See also

• NY State Bar Op. 1044: Advancing Litigation Expenses
• NY State Bar Op. 553: Lawyer Loan to a Client
• ABA Formal Op. 04-432: Posting Bail for a Client

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ncbar.gov/for-lawyers/ethics-and-governing-rules/ethics-opinions/opinions/2001-formal-ethics-opinion-7/

Original opinion text

Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.

Editor's note: See Rule 1.8 (e)(1) for amendments in 2003 that supersede this opinion.

Inquiry:

Attorney A represents Client on a personal injury claim. Client requires medical treatment as a result of the injuries he sustained but lacks a means of transportation to and from medical appointments. May Attorney A advance money to client to pay for a rental car?

Opinion:

No. Rule 1.8(e) prohibits a lawyer from providing financial assistance to a client in connection with pending or contemplated litigation "except the lawyer may advance court costs and expenses of litigation, including medical examinations and costs of obtaining and presenting evidence, provided the client remains ultimately liable for such costs and expenses." A transportation expense that directly arises from the prosecution of a client's case may be advanced to a client. In general, however, money for a rental car to be used over an extended period of time is a living expense even if the rental car may be used, on occasion, to transport a client to medical exams and treatment necessitated by the injury giving rise to the litigation. A lawyer may advance money to a client only to pay for the actual costs of transportation associated with the litigation or medical examinations. Such expenses may include an occasional cab or bus fare and, when reasonable in light of the distance to be traveled, the cost of a rental car for one trip or the cost of an airplane fare.