Opinion ID: 2621655
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: equitable awards of attorney fees

Text: ¶21 In general, Utah follows the traditional American rule that attorney fees cannot be recovered by a prevailing party unless a statute or contract authorizes such an award. Stewart v. Utah Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 885 P.2d 759, 782 (Utah 1994). However, in the absence of a statutory or contractual authorization, a court has inherent equitable power to award reasonable attorney fees when it deems it appropriate in the interest[s] of justice and equity. Id. This power is `part of the original authority of the chancellor to do equity in a particular situation.' Hall v. Cole, 412 U.S. 1, 5 (1973) (quoting Sprague v. Ticonic Nat'l Bank, 307 U.S. 161, 166 (1939)); Stewart, 885 P.2d at 782; see also Sprague, 307 U.S. at 164-67 (reviewing the history of equitable powers). ¶22 In Stewart, this court recognized categories of cases in which courts have exercised their inherent equitable power to award attorney fees. 885 P.2d at 782-83. In particular, the court observed that courts of equity have awarded attorney fees in cases where a beneficiary sues a trustee for violation of the trust and obtains a recovery for all other beneficiaries whose rights were also violated by the trustee. Id. at 782-83 (citing In re Estate of McCart, 847 P.2d 184, 187 (Colo. Ct. App. 1992); Robinson v. Kirbie, 793 P.2d 315, 319 (Okla. Ct. App. 1990); Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research v. Holman, 732 P.2d 974, 987 (Wash. 1987); Allard v. Pac. Nat'l Bank, 663 P.2d 104, 122 (Wash. 1983)). The facts and circumstances of this case place it within this category. [1]