Opinion ID: 3166307
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Directly Associated Legal Costs

Text: In their assignment of error 1, the Chaceys challenge the trial court’s ruling that the phrase “directly associated legal costs” in Code § 55-332(B) includes attorney’s fees. It is well established that Virginia follows the “American Rule,” which provides that “[g]enerally, absent a specific contractual or statutory provision to the contrary, attorney’s fees are not recoverable by a prevailing litigant from the losing litigant.” REVI, LLC v. Chicago Title Ins. Co., 290 Va. 203, 213, 776 S.E.2d 808, 813 (2015) (citing Mullins v. Richlands Nat’l Bank, 241 Va. 447, 449, 403 S.E.2d 334, 335 (1991)). There is no contract at issue in the dispute between the Chaceys and Garvey. Accordingly, Garvey is entitled to attorney’s fees only if there is a specific statutory provision providing for them. The General Assembly has created a statutory scheme in Title 55, Chapter 18, Article 8, dealing with timber theft. Code § 55-331 states that if any person, firm or corporation cuts 5 timber belonging to another, the owner has the right to a summary remedy for recovery of damages. Code § 55-332 then sets out the “[p]rocedure for determination of damage.” Subsection (A) sets forth a manner in which the owner and alleged trespasser may appoint estimators to determine the amount of damages. Subsection (B) then states as follows: Any person who (i) severs or removes any timber from the land of another without legal right or permission or (ii) authorizes or directs the severing or removal of timber or trees from the land of another without legal right or permission shall be liable to pay to the rightful owner of the timber three times the value of the timber on the stump and shall pay to the rightful owner of the property the reforestation costs incurred not to exceed $ 450 per acre, the costs of ascertaining the value of the timber, and any directly associated legal costs incurred by the owner of the timber as a result of the trespass. (Emphasis added). Code § 55-334 further provides that if the amount specified in subsection (B) of Code § 55-332 is not paid within 30 days of rendition of the statement, the person whose land was trespassed upon may proceed to judgment in the amount of the payment as specified in Code § 55-332. Code § 55-334 also states that if the person accused of trespass does not admit the fact of trespass, he may decline to appoint an estimator and notify the other party to such effect, and the aggrieved party may then sue in the “appropriate court.” Code § 55-334. There is no specific provision anywhere in Article 8 that provides that the prevailing party in a timber theft action is entitled to recover “attorney’s fees.” Accordingly, whether Garvey is entitled to attorney’s fees depends upon the meaning of the phrase “directly associated legal costs.” Garvey argues that her attorney’s fees are legal costs that are “directly associated” with the trespass. The Chaceys argue that Garvey is merely entitled to the costs necessary for the prosecution of her suit. Code §§ 17.1-600, et seq., govern the subject of costs in litigation. Code § 17.1-601 provides that a prevailing party is entitled to recover his or her “costs” against the opposite party. 6 In Advanced Marine Enterprises, Inc. v. PRC Inc., 256 Va. 106, 501 S.E.2d 148 (1998), we examined the meaning of “costs” under Code § 18.2-500 and in §§ 14.1-177-201 [now §§ 17.1- 600, et seq.]. Code § 18.2-500 provides that the prevailing party in a suit for injury to one’s reputation, trade, business or profession by reasons of a violation of Code § 18.2-499 is entitled to treble damages, as well as the “costs of suit, including a reasonable fee to plaintiff’s counsel.” In Advanced Marine, the trial court had awarded expert witness fees, expenses for express mail service, messengers, meals, law clerk “temporaries,” computer-based legal research, library research, photocopies, parking, taxicabs, telephone calls, and transcripts, all under the rubric of “costs of suit” as set out in Code § 18.2-500. Id. at 126, 501 S.E.2d at 160. We determined that a trial court’s discretion to award “costs” was limited “only to those costs essential for prosecution of the suit, such as filing fees or charges for service of process,” and remanded for a new calculation of appropriate costs. Id. at 126-27, 501 S.E.2d at 160. As our decision in Advanced Marine made clear, the term “costs” is limited to the costs necessary for the prosecution of a suit, and does not include attorney’s fees. The Code of Virginia contains more than 200 instances where the General Assembly has determined a successful litigant is entitled to “attorney’s fees and costs” or “costs and attorney’s fees.” See, e.g., Code § 2.2-3011(D) (“The whistle blower may be entitled to recover reasonable attorney fees and costs.”); Code § 4.1-410(A) (“The Board may . . . award reasonable costs and attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party.”); Code § 6.2-428(B) (“In the event the aggrieved party prevails, he may be awarded reasonable attorney fees and court costs in addition to any damages awarded.”). The General Assembly clearly views costs associated with litigation as a category of recoverable expenses separate and distinct from attorney’s fees. 7 The authority for awarding costs and attorney’s fees is in derogation of common law, and therefore, subject to strict interpretation. Lansdowne Dev. Co., L.L.C. v. Xerox Realty Corp., 257 Va. 392, 403, 514 S.E.2d 157, 162 (1999). In crafting Code § 55-332(B), the General Assembly provided that an owner in a timber trespass case was entitled to more than just the “costs” necessary for the prosecution of a suit. Instead of using the well-defined term “costs,” the General Assembly provided that the owner was entitled to “any directly associated legal costs incurred by the owner of the timber as a result of the trespass.” This particular phrase does not appear anywhere else in the Code of Virginia. It clearly means more than the costs necessary for the prosecution of the suit. However, the General Assembly did not include the right to recover attorney’s fees in this statute, something it has done in more than 200 other separate instances. Strictly construing the plain language of the statute, as we are required to do, Garvey is entitled to recover any directly associated legal costs that she incurred as a result of the trespass. She is not, however, entitled to recover attorney’s fees. Accordingly, we will remand this case to the trial court for a determination of the directly associated legal costs that Garvey incurred as a result of the trespass. 2