Attorneys' Fees
New Jersey Prompt Payment Act Supports Recovery of Fees that Exceed Contract Balance Due
September 24th, 2021
A subcontractor owed $30,500, who had to jump through multiple hoops to recover its money, was entitled to recover legal fees and costs exceeding the contract balance due. JHC Industrial Services, a second-tier sub, performed demolition work for Cent…
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Indemnity Obligation Typically Includes Attorneys’ Fees
March 22nd, 2017
The “American rule” in litigation is that each party must pay its own legal fees, absent a contract or statutory right to recover the same from another party. But the nature of an indemnity is one where legal fees incurred by the indemnitee shoul…
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Beware Hidden Dangers of Attorneys’ Fee Provisions
September 7th, 2016
First, I believe the trial court got it mostly right. But the appeals court had the last word. The case serves as a reminder that attorneys’ fee provisions at times do not always serve the greater purpose of balancing the stakes in litigation. Seco…
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Arbitrators were not authorized to award attorneys’ fees in situation where court could have done so
January 8th, 2016
An arbitration panel applying the AAA commercial arbitration rules awarded one party its attorneys’ fees, on the grounds that “substantially all of the defenses [of the other party] were wholly insubstantial, frivolous and not advanced in good fa…
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Categories: Arbitration
Mechanic’s Lien Amount Shall Not Include Attorneys’ Fees
February 4th, 2015
The Utah Supreme Court has held that a mechanic’s lien does not include attorneys’ fees incurred by a contractor even when the lien statute allows recovery of reasonable legal fees. The court distinguished between the right to recover attorneys…
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Categories: Construction
About Stan Martin
Stan Martin holds a law degree and an undergraduate degree in architecture. He has been involved with the construction industry for more than 45 years, working in construction prior to law school and beginning his construction law practice. During his career, he has been actively involved with the Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts, the Boston Society of Architects, the American Arbitration Association, and the Massachusetts Building Congress.