Common Fund Exception

The general rule (i.e., the “American Rule”) is that a party to a lawsuit cannot recover attorney fees. This is true even if the party wins the lawsuit. A narrow exception to this rule is the common fund exception.

Under this common fund exception to the American Rule, a litigant may recover attorney fees where the litigant recovers “a common fund that benefited a trust with multiple beneficiaries.” Trustees of Clayton Terrace Subdivision v. 6 Clayton Terrace, LLC, 585 S.W.3d 269, 285 (Mo. 2019). If this exception applies, Courts have held that “the equitable way to apportion the expenses of counsel fees is to allow them against the fund.” Feinberg v. Adolph K. Feinberg Hotel Trust, 922 S.W.2d 21, 26 (Mo. Ct. App. 1996).

Related Articles

Claimant Summary Judgment Motions

June 8, 2023

Summary judgment is a procedure where the Court concludes one side to a lawsuit wins under the law without a trial. It requires there to be (1) no dispute about material facts and (2) that the moving party is entitled to judgment under the law. Summary judgment is an “extreme and drastic remedy” that must…

Read More

Mistrials

May 30, 2023

A mistrial is where a judge effectively cancels a trial because of an extremely prejudicial error that occurs during a trial. “A mistrial is a drastic remedy, and the decision to grant one is largely within the discretion of the trial court.” Callahan v. Cardinal Glennon Hosp., 863 S.W.2d 852, 867 (Mo. 1993); see Pierce v. Platte-Clay…

Read More

Felonies, Convictions, Impeachment Evidence

May 24, 2023

Unlike in federal court, Missouri State Courts allow more flexibility regarding the use of prior convictions to impeach a witness. Section 491.050, RSMo provides, in part that: “Any person who has been convicted of a crime is, notwithstanding, a competent witness; however, any prior criminal convictions may be proved to affect his credibility in a…

Read More

Reformation Statute of Limitations

May 18, 2023

Reformation is a legal theory used to correct mistakes in a legal document. More technically, it is an “extraordinary equitable remedy and should be granted with great caution and only in clear cases of fraud or mistake.” Morris v. Brown, 941 S.W.2d 835, 840 (Mo. Ct. App. 1997). For example, in cases of mistake, the mistake…

Read More
Scroll to Top