An easy to parrot, hard to apply attorney fee maxim involves the “prevailing party” standard. To get attorneys fees awarded under a statutory or contractual fee-shifting provision, you must “prevail” or win the case. So what happens when your win is a proverbial Pyrrhic one? That is, you win the lawsuit but get only a fraction of the money …
Tag Archives: fee-shifting
Fee Shifting – Is ‘Prevailing Party’ Language Required?
I see this often: plaintiff sues a defendant for breach of contract. The defendant has more financial resources than the plaintiff and the contract doesn’t have an attorneys’ fees provision. Meaning, each side is responsible for its own fees. After several months, the plaintiff gets financially (and mentally) worn down by the richer defendant – who by now …
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Fee Petition Doesn’t Extend Time to Appeal Trial Verdict In Commercial Lease Spat
In Naperville South Commons, LLC v. Nguyen, 2013 IL App (3d) 120382-U, a Will County shopping center landlord filed its notice of appeal too late and so a money judgment for the tenant stands. The case involves a multi-year shopping center lease for tenant’s operation of nail salon. Several months into the lease’s fourth year, …
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