Opinion ID: 2514410
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Lease Contains One Attorney Fees Provision for Actions Instituted During the Term of the Lease and One Attorney Fees Provision for Actions Without Regard to When They Were Instituted

Text: ¶ 39 Generally, a party is entitled to attorney fees only as provided by contract or statute. [28] IHC bases its claim on the Lease contract. Fees provided for by contract, moreover, are allowed only in strict accordance with the terms of the contract. [29] In general, provisions for attorney fees continue to be binding on the parties even though the term of the lease has ended. In Cottonwood Mall Co. v. Sine , we held that a holdover tenant continues to be bound by the covenants which were binding upon him during the fixed term. [30] Although IHC terminated the Lease in this case when it sent the Notice of Default, D & K continues to occupy the leased premises subject to a final adjudication in this case and therefore continues to be bound by the covenants in the Lease. ¶ 40 In Cottonwood Mall Co., the lease provided that attorney fees could be awarded during the terms of this lease ... or to secure possession of the leased premises in the event this lease is terminated as herein provided ... or at the expiration of the term. [31] The lease in that case had ended because the term had expired. We held that because the provision for attorney fees specifically cover[ed] actions by the lessor to secure possession of the premises at the expiration of the lessee's term ... includ[ing] the holdover period, the landlord could recover attorney fees. [32] ¶ 41 Similarly, the Lease in this case includes a provision, section 17.2(c), that permits either party to recover attorney fees without regard to whether the lawsuit was instituted during the term of the Lease. Section 17.2(c) lists attorney fees among the damages recoverable in a lawsuit for breach of contract. Such a lawsuit may often be instituted after the term of the Lease has, possibly as a result of the breach, ended. In contrast, section 23 of the Lease contemplates an award of attorney fees for actions instituted during the term of the Lease. It provides for attorney fees in the event that at any time during the term of this Lease either the Landlord or the Tenant institutes any action or proceeding against the other relating to the provisions of this Lease or any default hereunder. (Emphasis added.) While this provision may be invoked for any action or proceeding related to the Lease, it limits recovery of attorney fees to actions instituted during the term of the Lease.