It is rare that a party is awarded attorney fees in litigation. For one, attorney fees are only recoverable in limited situations. Specifically, absent statutory authorization or contractual agreement, each party must bear his or her own attorney fees. David Ranken, Jr. Tech. Inst. v. Boykins, 816 S.W.2d 189, 193 (Mo. 1991). When there is…
Legal Articles
"Prevailing Party" in Contractual Attorney Fee Dispute
Parties to a lawsuit are usually responsible for their attorney fees, whether they win or lose. The only thing that changes this in Missouri is if there is a statute or contract which provides that a certain party receives his/her/its attorney fees. Link v. Kroenke, 909 S.W.2d 740, 747 (Mo. Ct. App. 1995). With respect to…
Prevailing Party, Breach of Contract Attorney Fees
Parties are usually responsible for their own attorneys fees, unless a contract or statute provides otherwise. A common clause in contracts will provide that the “prevailing party” in any dispute pertaining to the contract, including a breach of contract action, will, in addition to its contractual expectancy damages, be entitled to recover their reasonable attorney…
Prevailing Party Attorney Fees in the Merchandising Practices Act ("MPA")
The MPA is an extraordinarily broad statute intended to protect consumers. It loosens the rigid requirements for traditional common law fraud, negligent misrepresentation, product liability claims, etc. To further its objectives, the MPA statutorily authorizes reasonable attorney fees to a “prevailing party” in MPA litigation. “Missouri has adopted the American Rule; that is, absent statutory…