Judgment of the Court of Justice Fourth Chamber, 12 January 2023, D.V. Lawyers’ fees – Principle of an hourly rate, C-395/21

• Date: 12 January 2023
• Year: 2023

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with Article 2(5) of that directive, for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others in a

democratic society.

VII. CONSUMER PROTECTION: UNFAIR TERMS

Judgment of the Court of Justice (Fourth Chamber), 12 January 2023, D.V. (Lawyers’ fees –

Principle of an hourly rate), C-395/21

Link to the full text of the judgment

Reference for a preliminary ruling – Unfair terms in consumer contracts – Directive 93/13/EEC – Contract

for the provision of legal services concluded between a lawyer and a consumer – Article 4(2) – Assessment

of the unfairness of contractual terms – Exclusion of terms relating to the main subject matter of the

contract – Term providing for the payment of lawyers’ fees on the basis of an hourly rate – Article 6(1) –

Powers of the national court when dealing with a term considered to be ‘unfair’

M.A., as a consumer, concluded five contracts for the provision of legal services with D.V., a lawyer.

Each of those contracts provided that the lawyer’s fees were to be calculated on the basis of an hourly

rate, fixed at EUR 100 for each hour of consultation or of provision of legal services to M.A.

When she did not receive all the fees claimed, D.V. brought an action before the court of first instance

seeking an order that M.A. pay the fees due in respect of legal services performed. The court of first

instance upheld D.V.’s claim in part. However, it found the contractual term regarding the price of the

services provided to be unfair and reduced the fees claimed by half. After that judgment was upheld

by the appeal court, D.V. brought an appeal on a point of law before the Lietuvos Aukščiausiasis

Teismas (Supreme Court of Lithuania).

On a request for a preliminary ruling from that court, the Court of Justice rules on the interpretation

of Directive 93/13. In its judgment, it focuses in particular on the requirement of transparency of

terms relating to the main subject matter of contracts for the provision of legal services and the

effects of a finding that a term setting the price of those services is unfair.

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Findings of the Court

First of all, the Court finds that a term in a contract for the provision of legal services concluded

between a lawyer and a consumer, which sets the cost of the services provided on the basis of an

hourly rate, falls within the ‘main subject matter of the contract’ under Directive 93/13.

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Next, when examining whether that term, which contains no information other than the hourly rate

charged, meets the requirement of being drafted in plain intelligible language,

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the Court notes that,

given the nature of the services which are the subject matter of a contract for the provision of legal

services, it is often difficult, if not impossible, for the seller or supplier to predict, at the time the

contract is concluded, the exact number of hours needed to ensure the performance of that contract

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Article 3(1), Article 4(2), Article 6(1) and Article 7(1) of Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts (OJ

1993 L 95, p. 29).

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Within the meaning of Article 4(2) thereof.

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Laid down in Article 4(2) of Directive 93/13.