by Fred Abramson on March 19, 2010
Nearly every lawsuit asks for recovery of attorney fees, costs and expenses for bringing the action. When potential clients contact my office for the first time for a civil litigation matter, the most common question asked is whether attorney fees are recoverable.
Attorney fees are generally not recoverable. There are exceptions to this rule, such as when authorized by statute (ie some employment discrimination cases), court rule, or as agreed to by the parties. The case law is rather exhaustive on this subject. I still recall my contract professor in law school engaging my first year contract class on this issue through the use of the socratic method.
Under the English system, the loser of a lawsuit pays for attorney fee’s. However, this was changed in the United States, and under the the American rule, each party has to pay for their own legal costs. This law was established to protect people and businesses who have small budgets who would not be able to start a lawsuit against a company or individual who has deep pockets.
Following a judgment, your lawyer can include a bill of costs. This legal document will list the costs and expenses that you can recover in addition to your judgment. They include the following:
- Filing fee for the summons and complaint
- Jury Fees
- Depositions used at trial
- Service of summons by Officer or Process Server
- Service of subpeona by Officer or Process Server
- Statuatory Witness Fees
- Lay Expert Witness Fees and Expenses. But regular expert witness fees, such as for a medical doctor in a personal injury action or a forensic accountant in a trademark claim, are not recoverable.
If you have a question about what fees and expenses are recoverable in New York State, contact me at the Law Office of Frederic R. Abramson at 212-233-0666.
The above is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. This is free. Legal advice is something you pay for.
by Fred Abramson on March 19, 2010
If you are planning to start a lawsuit in New York State Court, one of your first tasks is helping you lawyer investigate the facts of your case. Believe it or not, case investigation of your civil litigation matter begins before you walk into your lawyers door and may not end until a judgement has been entered and money has been collected.
There are 2 ways of case investigation:
- Informal fact gathering;
- Formal discovery requests as per the CPLR. These discovery requests are generally made when a lawsuit has been commenced.
Why is fact investation important:
- It’s the law. An attorney cannot bring a lawsuit in New York without making a reasonable investigation that your claim has merit. If you decide to bring a lawsuit without merit, you can be subject to civil money penalties by the judge.
- It helps the lawyer research the proper areas of the law. You may believe that you have a simple case where the company that you would like to sue owes you money and they have no defense. However, a full investigation of the facts may reveal that they have a defense, such as the good that you sold to them were not delivered timely.
In New York State Court civil litigation, there is usually little argument about the law. Based on my experience, the side that is able to present the most facts, and present the most logical and pursuasive argument usually wins. Since the vast majority of New York civil litigation cases are settled before trial, it is especially important to convince opposing counsel that the facts of your case are overwealimingly in your favor.
A good lawyer will understand the court’s rules, knows what it takes to uncover evidence helpful to your case without intervention (such as gleaning evidence from social networks) along with the tenacity to press the court to obtain all the evidence to help your obtain your desired outcome.
The Law Office of Frederic R. Abramson represents both plaintiffs and defendants in New York State Court in civil litigation. If you have any questions regarding starting or defending a lawsuit in New York, contact me at 212-233-0666
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