“Circuit court litigation comes at a price, sometimes a heavy price.”
Does your contract include an attorneys fees provision? Does it include words like “reasonable” or “prevailing party?” If so, then the prevailing party may be reimbursed for its “reasonable” attorneys fees expended in the litigation or arbitration process.
On April 13, 2017, the Virginia Supreme Court held the trial court of the City of Virginia Beach abused its discretion when the plaintiff recovered the entire amount it sought from the defendant ($500), but defendant only had to pay $375 out of the $9,568.50 total attorneys fees expended to reach the judgment.
Under Virginia law, a Court or tribunal (e.g., arbitrator or arbitration panel) will typically consider at least seven different factors to determine how much is “reasonable.” Determining a reasonable amount is not a simple ratio calculation nor can it be predicted with certainty. The Court stated “merely applying a ratio between the damages actually awarded and damages originally sought will not satisfy the reasonableness inquiry.”
The Court also cautioned that parties should be careful not to overinflate their damages as “an unreasonably exaggerated claim for damages provokes a proportional response.” “This unnecessarily inflates the costs of litigation for both sides and increases the possibility that one will end up liable to the other for an exorbitant award of attorney’s fees.”
Lambert v. Sea Oats Condominium Association, Inc., Record No. 160269 (April 13, 2017).
Forum Selection Can Be a Home-Court Advantage
I promise that any disputes between us will be argued at your house. Time passes and a dispute begins to brew. Now, I want to argue at my house, not at yours. You pay costs to argue at my house that you wouldn’t have incurred had I done as agreed. Should I have to reimburse your costs?
No-Damage-for-Delay and Owner-Related Dispute Clauses are No Defense to Surety Liability Under Miller Act
Prime Government Contractors - you may need to update your interim payment waivers.
Contractual Fairness is Whatever the Parties’ Agreed
When you know a current action or inaction is wrong, but you do not object, should you be allowed to object later?
Which Comes First – Specifications or Drawings?
Sometimes it's not better to ask for forgiveness after-the-fact.
Government Contract Claims: When Appeal is Rejection of Settlement
Without a reservation of rights, appealing a Contracting Officer’s Final Decision is a rejection of any offer of payment or settlement included therein. So, the contractor had only three options.
Linking Obligations
If you want to bind the subcontractor to the prime in every way the same as the prime is bound to the owner, then the incorporation clause of the subcontract should be: . . .
Termination of Government Contracts for Convenience (T4C)
Imagine you’re a Government Contractor under a firm, fixed-price contract and you’ve done nothing wrong. Nevertheless, the Government has decided to unilaterally end its contract with you. Yes, the Government can do this...
Government Contractors: Build a Snowman in August
As a Government Contractor, when have you agreed to perform a certain way, but later realized that another way is better for everybody? When the Government agrees, expressly or impliedly, to the alternative performance, it waives a credit for the unperformed work.
Construction Dispute Settlement: Dealing with Details
Reap the benefits of settling a construction dispute by doing these things.
