Prevailing party and attorney fees
A person from Washington outlined the following scenario to ask (1) whether attorney fees would be awarded, and, (2) if so, how they would be calculated: - Two parties agreed that the following clause will apply in the event of a lawsuit: " The prevailing party shall have the right to collect from the other party its reasonable costs and necessary disbursements and attorney' s fees incurred in enforcing this Agreement. " - The plaintiff filed suit. He was awarded only half of the amount he claims the defendant owes to him. - The defendant alleges plaintiff's negligence caused defendant's costs to exceed the amount for which the plaintiff filed suit. The limited information in this scenario suggests that the plaintiff is entitled to attorney fees. But it is important for people to become aware that agreeing to provisions about attorney fees is tremendously risky. Those provisions always should be avoided. The "American rule" that by default each party b