Civil Jury Instructions Home

4.5-17  Attorneys' Fees Based on Contract

Revised to January 1, 2008

Any damages you award on the __ count may include an award of attorneys' fees.  If you find that the contract provided for the award of attorneys' fees and that the conditions in the contract for an award of attorneys' fees have been met, you should award attorneys' fees.  The contract provides <insert section of contract on attorneys' fees.>  You may only award attorneys' fees if they are provided for by the contract [or by a statute].

Authority

Piantedosi v. Floridia, 186 Conn. 275, 279-80 (1982); State v. Bloomfield Construction Co., 126 Conn. 349, 359 (1940).

Notes

The court should try to resolve attorneys' fees issues in a separate proceeding before the court rather than the jury.

To recover the fees, the plaintiff also must establish the amount of attorneys' fees (he/she/it) has incurred and the reasonableness of the amount of those fees.  The court should make that determination.