Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: attorney's fee

The judge will follow statutes, legal tradition as expressed in decided and published cases, and the language of any contract between the parties.

In the United States, the general rule is that attorneys' fees are NOT awarded.

There are many exceptions, mostly established by statutes or in contracts. Often, for example, a law will allow a court to award attorneys' fees to a prevailing plaintiff in a public-interest matter. Several provisions of family law allow award or attorneys' fees.

In contract cases, if the contract calls for an award of attorneys' fees as part of the damages, the court will follow the contract. Further, if either party is entitled, upon prevailing, to attorneys' fees, so then is the other if he prevails (by statute in California).

Re: attorney's fee

As a general rule, attorney fees are not recoverable by the prevailing party. In California, the judge generally may not award such fees unless there is a specific statute authorizing such fees for a particular cause of action (and there are a number of statutes that do so) or if the lawsuit is over a contract which provides for fees.