if you sue someone in civil court can you get legal fees payed for also?

Answer 1

Sometimes.

Generally, you have to win.

The fees have to meet the judge's idea of "reasonable".

For some causes of action, the statutes limit the fees that can be awarded, either in dollar amounts or as a percent of the judgement. That limitation applies to the award, not to what the attorney can charge the client.

Answer 2

Sometimes you can. A judge may grant legal fees if there was a settlement offered and the jury trial resulted in a lower settlement.

This is probably to keep the court docket to a workable level. This way people do not tie up the courts that can easily be settled out of court.

Answer 3

It depends on the jurisdiction, but generally the person who wins can get some of their fees paid for by whoever loses.

The amount recovered is usually somewhere between the amount of filing fees, and up to about 1/3 of the total fees.

In rare circumstances (and only in courts that allow it) you can recover the whole amount spent.

In some circumstances, no fees will be recovered.

Answer 4

Yes, most of the time, if you win. Depends where you are.