Recovering Attorney's Fees
Let’s say your company is owed money by one of your customers, and despite all your efforts to work with them, they fail to pay you what’s owed. Or, suppose you have a dispute with someone and it can’t be resolved without going to court. You start thinking about hiring a lawyer and filing a lawsuit to recover what’s owed. Would you think twice about suing if you knew you’d be required to pay the other side’s attorney’s fees if you lose the case?
In Delaware like in many other states, it’s believed that the risk of having to pay the other side’s attorney’s fees should not deter you from going to court to enforce your legal rights. For this reason, the general rule is that you don’t get reimbursed your attorney’s fees if you win, but you don’t have to pay the other side’s attorney’s fees if you lose. However, as is the case with most general rules, there are exceptions.
You can recover your attorney’s fees from the losing party if (1) your contract provides for reimbursement of attorney’s fees if you win your lawsuit, or (2) there’s a statute that awards attorney’s fees to the prevailing party.
Maybe it’s time to take a look at the contracts you use to see whether they contain a provision requiring the other side to pay your attorney’s fees if you have to go to court.
