My wife and I are being sued for a car accident, and the insurance company has taken care of everything. One of the jerks from the accident is suing us for tort and we might have to hire a lawyer. Can we countersue to cover our legal fees if the court rules in our favor?
2006-10-17 22:52:32 · 3 answers · asked by TrainerMan 5 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Malicious prosecution for a crime could be charged against a person who initiated a frivolous case and can claim damages arising from it including actual costs such as attorney's fees.
2006-10-17 22:56:47 · answer #1 · answered by FRAGINAL, JTM 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Get the cases combined. Your insurer still has to defend so long as they are related to your ownership or use of a vehicle it is insuring.
It occasionally is possible to get damages for barratry and malicious prosecution. But it's not easy. If you could get the case transferred to Canada or elsewhere abroad on a theory of forum non convenience, then lawyers' fees would follow the result of the case (be paid by the loser along with other costs of both sides).
2006-10-18 07:34:38 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If it is in England the costs would normally be awarded against the party which loses the case anyway so you don't sue for them, they are decided by the judge who tries the case. The only usual exceptions are very small claims or people who bring a case and win on a technicality but who the judge thinks should have settled and not wasted the courts time.
2006-10-18 06:05:27 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋