Opinion ID: 315788
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Claim for Allowance of Attorneys' Fees under the Colorado Securities Act

Text: 60 Plaintiff asserts that a finding of liability of defendants under the Colorado Securities Act also entitles him to a mandatory award of reasonable attorneys' fees. He relies on 1963 C.R.S. 125-1-21(1), which states: 61 Any person who . . . (improperly offers or sells a security in violation of the statute) . . . is liable to the person buying the security from him, who may sue to recover the consideration paid for the security, together with interest at six per cent per year from the date of payment, costs, and reasonable attorneys' fees, less the amount of any income received on the security, upon the tender of the security and any income received on it, or for damages if he no longer owns the security. 62 The trial court construed this provision as permissive rather than mandatory, and declined to award attorneys' fees in this case. We agree with this ruling. 63 The argument based on Young v. Taylor, supra, is a circuitous one, and it does not offer authority for the proposition that the award is mandatory. Generally attorneys' fees are not allowed unless they are specifically authorized by contract or by statute. See 25 C.J.S. Damages 50;15 Am.Jur. 142-146. See also Spencer v. Murphy, 6 Colo.App. 453, 41 P. 841 (1895); Publix Cab Company v. Colorado National Bank, 139 Colo. 205, 338 P.2d 702, 715 (1959). We perceive on error in the trial court's determination.