Can You Sue for Legal Fees?
Even if you win a case, legal fees can still make you a "loser" -- in 2008, a defendant in an Internet piracy case successfully defended herself, but still spent $108,000 doing it, according to "Wired Magazine." In certain circumstances, you can recover legal fees.
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Identification
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Suing for legal fees is possible, according to Houston, Texas law firm Hirsch & Westheimer, but usually only if you are the winning party and state law allows you to recover these fees. In certain cases, such as recovering debt, the defending party cannot recover legal fees in some states.
Considerations
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All states go by the "American principle" -- that both parties in a lawsuit should pay their legal fees, according to the FindLaw website. Cases involving discrimination or faulty consumer products are the most common types of cases where you can recover legal fees. Some contracts, however, indicate that either party can sue for legal fees. Even if you can sue, most states limit the legal fees you can attempt to recover.
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Tip
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You should research whether you can recover legal fees. In some cases, legal fees exceed any possible damages or claims, even legitimate ones, according to the FindLaw website. Large companies sometimes force a smaller company to abandon a case because the small company cannot afford to risk the chance that it loses the case or recovering legal fees proves unsuccessful.
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