Enterprise Bank has lost an appellate-level bid to charge counsel fees to a client in foreclosure for work completed by an in-house attorney and paralegal.

That work is not included in the description of legal fees contained in Enterprise's loan documents, the Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled Aug. 8, affirming a trial court decision. However, the court did not address whether companies generally may bill clients for the work of in-house lawyers and legal staff.

“After careful consideration, we conclude that the language 'hire or pay someone else' is, at best, ambiguous,” Judge Geoffrey Moulton wrote in a 10-page opinion. “Frazier makes a strong case for the proposition that 'someone else' necessarily means someone not then in Enterprise's employ. Otherwise, the meaning of the term is difficult to discern.”