At the real estate, contract, commercial and fraud recovery law firm of William A. Miller, located in in Scottsdale Arizona, we are often asked: “may I get my attorney fees back”? This is a big issue to ponder for folks about to file a lawsuit. We have heard it for 30 plus years. In fact, the Attorney Fees Manual for the State of Arizona is about 4 inches thick. When may attorney fees be awarded to the winner? As a general rule, in tort claims, seldom. In contract claims or those that arise out of certain statutes, the answer is often, very often. Recently, the Arizona Court of Appeals in Cook v. Grebe allowed attorney fees in spite of the plaintiff losing many of his claims. The loss of claims is relevant only to the court’s determination of whether to actually award fees and in what percent. In Cook, two neighbors sued for claims over the ownership of property. The plaintiff claimed adverse possession and private nuisance. The defendant counterclaimed for quiet title, conversion, unjust enrichment, and trespass. The defendant prevailed on quiet title and trespass. The Plaintiff failed to prove conversion and unjust enrichment. Plaintiff lost on some claims, won on others. The trial court awarded partial fees to the defendant. The plaintiff appealed. The Court of Appeals upheld the partial fee award. A.R.S. § 12-1103 provides that the prevailing party in a quiet title action is eligible for a fee award. Here, that statute applied to both the quiet title and adverse possession claims and the defendant prevailed on those claims. The outcome of other claims does not affect who is the prevailing party that is eligible for fees under A.R.S. § 12-1103. Be careful of what claims you bring in a lawsuit. You can win, but ultimately, loose.

Feel free to call Bill Miller at 602-319-6899 to further discuss your case.

We also handle, Fraud, Breach of contract, Non-compete agreements, Non-disclosure agreements, Employee theft and embezzlement, Insurance purchases and enforcement of policy coverage, Negotiation and/or enforcement of commercial leases, Negligence and gross negligence resulting in losses, Intentional acts causing a company to suffer damages, Tortious interference with contractual relationships, Unjust enrichment, Real Estate fraud, Consumer fraud, Conversion/Theft, Intentional and/or negligent misrepresentation, Business torts and Real estate title/escrow.

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