Opinion ID: 1772875
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: liability of paine webber to negea for attorney fees and court costs

Text: Attorney fees are not allowed in Louisiana except where authorized by statute or contract. Hernandez v. Harson, supra (on rehearing). Unless the judgment provides otherwise, costs shall be paid by the party cast. La.Code Civ.P.art. 1920. The trial judge granted NEGEA's third-party demand for indemnification based on Paine Webber's signature guarantee of an imposter. He found that Paine Webber was liable for all costs of the proceedings. The court of appeal stated that Paine Webber was liable to NEGEA for any loss that resulted from the signature guarantee and included within Paine Webber's liability an award of attorney fees and court costs. The court of appeal relied on La.R.S. 10:8-312. [8] Paine Webber guaranteed the imposter's signature on December 9, 1977. Quealy's suit was filed December 6, 1978. La.R.S. 10:8-312 was enacted by Acts 1978, No. 165, § 1 with an effective date of January 1, 1979. It was not in effect at the time the signature was guaranteed nor when suit was filed. Being substantive in nature, the statute should not be retroactively applied. Therefore, it does not govern this case. [9] The statutory provisions which applied when Paine Webber guaranteed the imposter's signature are contained in the Uniform Stock Transfer Act. La.R.S. 12:621, et seq. (repealed by Acts 1978, No. 165, § 6, eff. Jan. 1, 1979). Our review of these statutes yields no provision whereby a signature guarantor assumes the defense of the issuer when a claim is made against the latter for wrongful transfer, nor do we find any statutory authority for an award of attorney fees against a signature guarantor in such a case. Furthermore, there was no contractual agreement between Paine Webber and NEGEA that could provide for attorney fees. Thus, the court of appeal erred in finding Paine Webber liable for attorney fees on NEGEA's third-party demand. Paine Webber was found liable for indemnification on NEGEA's third-party demand and, as the party cast, it was obliged to pay court costs. La.Code Civ.P. art. 1920. In sum, we find that the court of appeal erred in awarding NEGEA attorney fees on its third-party demand against Paine Webber, and we reverse that portion of the judgment. In all other respects, the judgment of the court of appeal is affirmed.