Generally, unless you have a contract which provides for the payment of attorney fees, these fees are not recoverable in a court action. The American Rule provides that each party will bear their own attorney fees resulting from the court litigation. The rationale for this rule is that our system does not want to create a disincentive for aggrieved parties to bring suit asserting their rights. This contrasts with the English common law which provides that the losing party pays the legal fees of the winning party. Note that even under the American Rule, though relatively rare, a party may be required to pay some attorney fees of the other party, such as situations where a frivolous claim or position is presented in litigation.