If you are involved in a dispute and you think you may need to hire a lawyer, you may want to know if you can make the other side pay for your attorney’s fees.

The answer to this depends on the type of case you have. In Utah, the judge will order the other side to reimburse you for the money you paid your attorney only in certain types of cases. I will address five of them here.

1. Contract - The first is a case where the parties have signed a written contract that has an attorney fee provision. Many written contracts have a sentence or two that say something like, “In any action related to or arising out of this Agreement, the prevailing party will be entitled to recover costs and expenses, including but not limited to reasonable attorney's fees.” If you have a contract with this type of provision and you win the case, the other side will be on the hook not only for money damages, but also the money you paid your attorney.

2. Statute - The second type of case is one that is governed by a body of statutory law that allows recovery of attorney’s fees for the winning side. For example, the legislature has made laws that allow recovery of fees in landlord tenant eviction cases, both commercial and residential. As another example, in cases where a construction company does not get paid and has to enforce its lien on the property, it is entitled to recover attorney’s fees. There are several statutes that apply in different specific situations, too many to mention here.

3. Fiduciary Duty - The third type of case is one for breach a fiduciary duty. An example of this might be if a business owner unfairly takes or hides money from the other owners. Utah courts have decided that if this happens, the wronged party should received attorney’s fees.

4. Insurance Contract - The fourth type of case is one involving an insurance contract. If an insurance company unfairly and unreasonably refuses to pay a legitimate insurance claim, they will have to pay attorney’s fees to the other side. This is because Utah case law has held that insurance companies have an implied duty to deal with their customers in good faith.

5. Third-Party - The fifth type of case arises when someone’s wrongful conduct makes it so that you end up having to sue someone else. This is called the third-party litigation exception. An example of this might be if a title insurance company makes a mistake that causes you to have a real estate dispute with a third party on your hands.

In addition to these five types of cases, there may be others that allow recovery of attorney’s fees. It is also important to note that only a reasonable amount of attorney’s fees are recoverable. Some may think that the phrase “reasonable attorney’s fees” is an oxymoron. It is not uncommon for a court to require the other side to pay only some portion of the attorney’s fees rather than every single penny.

If you have a specific question about your case, please call me or email me through our website. I offer free consultations. Also, if you think this content might benefit someone you know, please share it with them.

This content provides general information only and is not intended to be legal advice. It is not intended to be exhaustive. Please contact a professional regarding your specific situation.