What is unearned advance payment?
<p>An advance payment is unearned per se, they didn't work for it, they were just given it. Why reiterate that is is unearned?  </p>

<p>The way I understand it is that somebody is given an advance payment but did nothing to earn it afterwards, for example it says here</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"...for failure to promptly return unearned advance payments of fees after Hammond did not take reasonable steps to advance Mrs. McBratney's case."</p>
</blockquote>

<p><a href="http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ky-supreme-court/1183225.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Movant v. Maxwell Lee HAMMOND</a></p>

<p>Otherwise it is a fine example of tautology.</p>

<p>An advance payment is given in expectation that it <em>will</em> be earned. In the future when the work has been done the payment is now an "earned advance payment"</p>

<p>It seems that the case is about someone who took an advance and then took no steps towards earning it and presumably did not return it, hence it is "unearned".</p>

<p>There is no tautology here as an advance that happened in the past may be earned or unearned.</p>

legal-terms