This case has been cited 2 times or more.
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2015-12-07 |
VELASCO JR., J. |
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| It is settled that the award of attorney's fees is the exception rather than the general rule, and counsel's fees are not awarded every time a party prevails in a suit because of the policy that no premium should be placed on the right to litigate.[39] Still, the award of attorney's fees to the winning party lies within the discretion of the court, taking into account the circumstances of each case.[40] This means that such an award demands factual, legal, and equitable justification, such as those instances specified in Article 2208 of the Civil Code,[41] as when the defendant's act or omission has compelled the plaintiff to incur expenses to protect his interest or where the defendant acted in gross and evident bad faith in refusing to satisfy the plaintiffs plainly valid, just, and demandable claim. | |||||
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2013-06-05 |
SERENO, C.J. |
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| The general rule is that attorney's fees cannot be recovered as part of damages because of the policy that no premium should be placed on the right to litigate. They are not to be awarded every time a party wins a suit. The power of the court to award attorney's fees under Article 2208 demands factual, legal, and equitable justification. Even when a claimant is compelled to litigate with third persons or to incur expenses to protect his rights, still attorney's fees may not be awarded where no sufficient showing of bad faith could be reflected in a party's persistence in a case other than an erroneous conviction of the righteousness of his cause. In Benedicto v. Villaflores,[8] we explained the reason behind the need for the courts to arrive upon an actual finding to serve as basis for a grant of attorney's fees, considering the dual concept of these fees as ordinary and extraordinary:It is settled that the award of attorney's fees is the exception rather than the general rule; counsel's fees are not awarded every time a party prevails in a suit because of the policy that no premium should be placed on the right to litigate. Attorney's fees, as part of damages, are not necessarily equated to the amount paid by a litigant to a lawyer. In the ordinary sense, attorney's fees represent the reasonable compensation paid to a lawyer by his client for the legal services he has rendered to the latter; while in its extraordinary concept, they may be awarded by the court as indemnity for damages to be paid by the losing party to the prevailing party. Attorney's fees as part of damages are awarded only in the instances specified in Article 2208 of the Civil Code. As such, it is necessary for the court to make findings of fact and law that would bring the case within the ambit of these enumerated instances to justify the grant of such award, and in all cases it must be reasonable. We can glean from the above ruling that attorney's fees are not awarded as a matter of course every time a party wins. We do not put a premium on the right to litigate. On occasions that those fees are awarded, the basis for the grant must be clearly expressed in the decision of the court. | |||||