Can a court award attorney's fees as a form of cost?

Code of Civil Procedure sections 1032 and 1033.5 authorize a trial court to award attorney's fees as a form of costs if the parties have entered into a contractual provision that permits such an award. Section 1032, subdivision (b) states that "a prevailing party" is "entitled as a matter of right to recover costs in any action or proceeding." Section 1033.5, subdivision (a)(10), in turn, "provides . . . that attorney fees are 'allowable as costs under Section 1032' when they are 'authorized by' either 'Contract,' 'Statute,' or 'Law.' Thus, recoverable litigation costs do include attorney fees, but only when the party entitled to costs has a [contractually based right or other] legal basis, independent of the cost statutes." (Santisas v. Goodin (1998) 17 Cal.4th 599, 606-607 (Santisas).)