Plaintiff provided a memorandum of authorities, and defendant responded to that memorandum. It is clear that such fees always were sought. The Court of Appeals affirmed, citing Wyatt . Defendant contends that the phrase refers only to the original complaint in an action. We look first to the text and context of the statute.
Statutory context includes other provisions of the same statute and other related statutes.
ORS 20.080 does not specify a pleading procedure different from the Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure. An amended pleading must be complete without reference to the original pleading or any preceding amended pleading. After an original pleading has been amended, it no longer has status as a pleading in the action. The amended pleading supersedes the previous pleading and becomes the operative pleading. Under ORS 20.080, plaintiff is entitled to a reasonable amount of attorney fees if she made a written demand for payment of her claim not fewer than 10 days before she filed her initial complaint.