Availability of Attorney Fees in Civil Lawsuits

In most lawsuits, parties are expected to pay their own attorney fees for bringing or defending civil litigation. However, under Washington law there are a few scenarios where parties may be entitled to have their attorney fees paid by the opposing party if they prevail in a given lawsuit.

First, attorney fees may be awarded if the parties contractually agreed that a dispute over a given agreement should result in an award of attorney fees to the prevailing party. This means that in litigation involving such an agreement, if a party wins even $1, they could also be entitled to payment for their attorney fees associated with litigating the dispute.

Attorney fees may also be awarded where the Court finds that a specific statute has been violated, when the statute in question includes language that would entitle a party to attorney fees. A great example is Washington’s Consumer Protection Act, which states in relevant part “for purposes of a judgment awarded pursuant to an action by a consumer . . . the consumer shall be awarded actual damages and costs of the action together with reasonable attorney’s fees as determined by the court.” RCW 19.182.150 (emphasis added).

Another example is RCW 4.84.250, which states that in an action for damages where the amount pleaded by the prevailing party is $10,000 or less, the prevailing party may be entitled to recover “as part of the costs of the action a reasonable amount to be fixed by the court as attorneys’ fees.” There are several other statutes in Washington that contain similar language, so it’s important to read the law carefully when considering litigation.

The third instance in which a party may be entitled to payment of his or her attorney fees is when the court deems it equitable. In rare cases, a party may be awarded attorney fees when the court finds that the opposing party engaged in bad faith litigation conduct. This can involve a number of issues including but not limited to waste or misuse of court resources, engaging in bad faith during the course of a lawsuit, or intentionally bringing a frivolous claim, counterclaim, or defense. Recovering under these theories is very rare, and should not generally be expected.