Is a retainer fee reimbursed if the case never goes to court. If so, when is it returned.

Usually, any usused portion of a retainer (i.e. amounts above the time that has been spent) would be refundable, but this has nothing to do with whether a case goes to court or not.  If an attorney spends 5 hours preparing a complaint, but the client settles tha case before the complaint is filed, the attorney is still paid for the 5 hours.