Frivolous lawsuit-Are attorney fees awarded normally?

[dyveke]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Montana

We recently won a lawsuit because it was deemed "frivolous" by the judge. Our attorney has said that the judge denied our request for attorney fees, stating that that was not uncommon in "cases like this". The lawsuit was obviously with malicious intent to harm us financially and emotionally (the plaintiff even admits this as his reason for suing us and we have emails and voice mails to prove it! He also threatened to rape and kill us-but that's a separate issue, I guess.

I am suspecting that our attorney did not pursue the avenue of getting our attorney fees awarded to us because the plaintiff is completely broke and we know he owes at least $100,000 for medical bills, etc. and has no job. He represented himself "pro se", so incurred no cost. I think that the attorney knows he would probably never see a penny if the the plaintiff had to pay him so did not want to pursue this for us. By the way, our attorney bills are $10,000 from this mess.

Do I have to sue the plaintiff to get my fees back, or is this just part of the same lawsuit? Would I even have a chance of winning? This whole thing just seems so odd...why wouldn't we get our fees awarded in such an blatantly obvious, provable case. The guy was just wanting us to suffer.

[BL]

Originally Posted by dyveke

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Montana

We recently won a lawsuit because it was deemed "frivolous" by the judge. Our attorney has said that the judge denied our request for attorney fees, stating that that was not uncommon in "cases like this". The lawsuit was obviously with malicious intent to harm us financially and emotionally (the plaintiff even admits this as his reason for suing us and we have emails and voice mails to prove it! He also threatened to rape and kill us-but that's a separate issue, I guess.

I am suspecting that our attorney did not pursue the avenue of getting our attorney fees awarded to us because the plaintiff is completely broke and we know he owes at least $100,000 for medical bills, etc. and has no job. He represented himself "pro se", so incurred no cost. I think that the attorney knows he would probably never see a penny if the the plaintiff had to pay him so did not want to pursue this for us. By the way, our attorney bills are $10,000 from this mess.

Do I have to sue the plaintiff to get my fees back, or is this just part of the same lawsuit? Would I even have a chance of winning? This whole thing just seems so odd...why wouldn't we get our fees awarded in such an blatantly obvious, provable case. The guy was just wanting us to suffer.

If the petition was frivolous , it should have been tossed out to begin with .

Consult another attorney on your options .

Obviously if the petitioner doesn't have a pot to PPP in , the attorney still wants to be paid .

Were attorney fees actually requested paid by the petitioner ?

Request copies of the Judge's rulings .

[nrknlknek]

To sue a judgment proof individual to recover costs is probably a waste of time and resources, but you might consider going after him for abuse of process, malicious prosectution and intentional infliction...if you win, you have your judgment (possibly substantial) and if the guy should win the lottery some day, you'll get your payday.

[dyveke]

Yeah, I know! The lawsuit should have been tossed out before we racked up all the debt to the lawyer. Actually the guy has had numerous cases thrown out before, even by the same judge! It's almost like the lawyer and him are in cahoots, or something. I think my lawyer is way too passive and likes to rack up the bills. He is representing us in another lawsuit and I think he is doing a terrible job there, too. Too late to change lawyers, I guess.

[azlawstudent]

Why ask for something you can't get? If the plaintiff was unemployed and had a pre-existing creditor with a substantial claim against him, the chances of you ever seeing any money in attorney's fees are slight. Might you have been legally entitled to them? Yes, but it wouldn't be worth the additional time, money, and effort on your part to try and get them awarded as they would not get paid.

Furthermore, when legal fees are awarded by a court, they don't erase the winning party's obligation to pay their attorney - they just add to what the losing party owes the winning party.

Unfortunately, suing a deadbeat is a losing proposition. It doesn't make total sense, because we generally think of deadbeats as the least deserving of protection.

[dyveke]

Originally Posted by azlawstudent

Why ask for something you can't get? If the plaintiff was unemployed and had a pre-existing creditor with a substantial claim against him, the chances of you ever seeing any money in attorney's fees are slight. Might you have been legally entitled to them? Yes, but it wouldn't be worth the additional time, money, and effort on your part to try and get them awarded as they would not get paid.

Furthermore, when legal fees are awarded by a court, they don't erase the winning party's obligation to pay their attorney - they just add to what the losing party owes the winning party.

Unfortunately, suing a deadbeat is a losing proposition. It doesn't make total sense, because we generally think of deadbeats as the least deserving of protection.

Hi! Thanks for your comment!

I think you may have misunderstood my original question, though...

I'm really am just asking if anyone thinks maybe my lawyer knows that the guys is a deadbeat and he would never get paid, so that is why he didn't pursue the "attorney fees" thing. He knew we had money. I'm wondering if attorney's fee are never usually awarded in this sort of case anyway and that's why we got stuck this the bill. That's all. I was wondering if I would have to open a new lawsuit which I wouldn't do obviously-since I would never see a penny), or if we could appeal to get the attorney fee's awarded.

It is in the financial interest of my lawyer not to do right by us and pursue this, right? But to me, it is wrong for him to just drop it like that. He is supposed to be looking out for US.

[mtpockets]

We recently won a lawsuit because it was deemed "frivolous" by the judge. Our attorney has said that the judge denied our request for attorney fees, stating that that was not uncommon in "cases like this". The lawsuit was obviously with malicious intent to harm us financially and emotionally (the plaintiff even admits this as his reason for suing us and we have emails and voice mails to prove it! He also threatened to rape and kill us-but that's a separate issue, I guess.

I am suspecting that our attorney did not pursue the avenue of getting our attorney fees awarded to us because the plaintiff is completely broke and we know he owes at least $100,000 for medical bills, etc. and has no job. He represented himself "pro se", so incurred no cost. I think that the attorney knows he would probably never see a penny if the the plaintiff had to pay him so did not want to pursue this for us. By the way, our attorney bills are $10,000 from this mess.

Do I have to sue the plaintiff to get my fees back, or is this just part of the same lawsuit? Would I even have a chance of winning? This whole thing just seems so odd...why wouldn't we get our fees awarded in such an blatantly obvious, provable case. The guy was just wanting us to suffer.

Why did the judge consider the case frivolous?

When did your attorney become aware of the facts that led the judge to conclude the case was frivolous?

Your attorney fees seem very high for a "frivolous" case. Why couldn't your attorney dispose of this case short of a trial?

[las365]

I'm really am just asking if anyone thinks maybe my lawyer knows that the guys is a deadbeat and he would never get paid, so that is why he didn't pursue the "attorney fees" thing. He knew we had money. I'm wondering if attorney's fee are never usually awarded in this sort of case anyway and that's why we got stuck this the bill.

An order for damages for attorney fees would be to you, not to your attorney. You are responsible for paying your attorney fees whether there is an order for you to be reimbursed by the opposing party or not.

An attorney fee award to you has no bearing on your responsibility to pay your attorney.