CHAPTER 166: CHAPTER 125 HOW COULD I POSSIBLY GET MYSELF INTO TROUBLE IF I KNOW THE LAW?_3

Zhou Lin finished reading the complaint, her eyes widening slightly. She usually bought lottery tickets too. Not to mention first prize, she had hardly ever won even the fourth prize, which was only worth several hundred yuan.

Subsequently, she reviewed the complaint and related materials according to procedure. She nodded and said, "The complaint materials are fine. Go back and wait for the notice of case filing."

Notices of case filing were divided into approval notices and disapproval notices. The court would not approve filings for cases with unclear descriptions or illogical complaints. The dispute over lottery ticket ownership that Qin Mu raised was similar to a debt case and fell within the scope of civil disputes accepted by the court. Even if a debt was only verbally acknowledged and not repaid, the court would accept the case as long as transfer records, chat logs, and a chronology of events could be provided. Of course, if cash had been given without a written acknowledgment, that would be another story.

「After leaving the court.」

Qin Mu headed straight to the nursing home to continue his day’s work. Although his job was relatively relaxed, it wasn’t good to skip work all the time. If his supervisor discovered it, his salary might even be docked.

"Up, the compensation for my house has come through! I’ll head back to Jin City after sorting things out and treat you to a meal to thank you!"

While at work, he received this message from Qing Lan. Since he had done Qing Lan a small favor, she had been meaning to return to Jin City and treat him to a meal. He saw no reason to refuse.

Late in the afternoon, the notice of case filing from the court arrived quickly. This civil lawsuit was scheduled by the court to be heard in three days. At the same time, the prosecutor’s office had also accepted his request for assistance in evidence collection and would dispatch relevant personnel to help gather evidence before the court session.

「Upon receiving this news.」

He immediately went to the nursing home’s legal consultant’s office and found Wang Dachui.

"Civil lawsuit?"

Wang Dachui, who was cramming criminal law, put down his thick *Criminal Law* book, startled for a moment. He didn’t quite catch on at first. He had fought many lawsuits with Qin Mu; this was their first civil litigation case.

Qin Mu looked at Wang Dachui curiously and couldn’t help but ask, "Isn’t this your specialty? Shouldn’t you be best at this? Why do you seem a bit troubled?"

Wang Dachui: "..."

He rolled his eyes, utterly speechless. He’d been diligently studying criminal law lately and had just gained some insights. He was just waiting for Qin Mu to bring him a case so he could try out what he’d learned. Unexpectedly, Qin Mu had brought him a civil litigation case. And this civil litigation case was particularly complex.

The determination of ownership for first and fourth prizes is legally ambiguous. First, lottery tickets represent a chance-based behavior. Buying them means purchasing a chance to win, and there’s no difference between the first and fourth prizes before the draw. Secondly, at the time of purchase, lottery tickets are transferred through verbal agreement, making the ownership of each ticket complex. This requires consideration of multiple factors, including the ticket’s serial number, purchase time, and transfer conditions. Finally, in this case, the other party also firmly claimed to have entered the wrong number, and there was no surveillance footage, which added to the case’s complexity.

"Wait a minute! What did you say? You won first prize?"

Suddenly, Wang Dachui caught on, his eyes widening. After mulling it over for a long moment, he finally realized that Qin Mu had actually won first prize!

Qin Mu nodded and said truthfully, "Yes, first prize. Seven million."

Wang Dachui swallowed hard. Then he gave a wry smile and said, "This case... maybe you should represent yourself. My ex-girlfriend is coming to reconcile with me in three days, so I won’t have time for the case. Also, in civil litigation cases involving property disputes, lawyer fees are charged as a percentage of the property value. For a seven-million-yuan case, the lawyer’s fee would be about 220,000 yuan. With your abilities, you can handle the litigation yourself; there’s no need to hire another lawyer."

As he spoke, he sighed, his expression pained. Before meeting Qin Mu, he’d been a civil litigation lawyer for several years but had never handled a property dispute exceeding 100,000 yuan. He finally had a big case... and now his ex-girlfriend wanted to reconcile. Besides, as a friend, he couldn’t bring himself to take Qin Mu’s money. Of course, if they won, he could petition the court to have the losing party cover the legal fees. But if they lost... he’d be out the lawyer’s fee himself.

In civil cases, lawyers didn’t charge based on winning or losing. Regardless of the outcome, a certain lawyer fee had to be paid. For property disputes under 100,000 yuan, a 5,000 yuan fee was required. For the portion from 100,000 to 500,000 yuan, 4.2% was charged; from 500,000 to 1,000,000 yuan, 4%; from 1,000,000 to 5,000,000 yuan, 3%; and from 5,000,000 to 10,000,000 yuan, 2%. For a seven-million-yuan case, this amounted to roughly 220,000 yuan in lawyer fees—a considerable sum.

This was why many lawyers chose to practice civil litigation rather than become criminal defense lawyers. Civil litigation lawyers simply made too much money. If they didn’t take cases, that was one thing, but a single case could earn them a year’s income. That’s why many small law firms, often looking deserted and on the verge of bankruptcy, could somehow stay afloat for over a decade.

"I see," Qin Mu nodded after listening. He’d been engrossed in studying legal statutes lately and wasn’t very familiar with lawyer fee standards. Since Wang Dachui was busy, he’d have to represent himself, acting as both plaintiff and lawyer.