Does section 1717 of the California Code of Civil Procedure apply to all requests for attorneys' fees that arise in actions on a contract?

First , the California courts have ruled that section 1717 is applicable to all requests for awards of attorneys' fees that arise in actions "on a contract." Accordingly, for example, the rules in section 1717 regarding the identification of a "prevailing party"including the rule that there is no prevailing party in an action that is voluntarily dismissed or that is settledapply to all actions "on a contract" in which parties seek to recover attorneys' fees, no matter what the parties' contract says. Santisas v. Goodin , 17 Cal.4th 599, 61617, 71 Cal.Rptr.2d 830, 951 P.2d 399 (Cal. 1998). In this regard section 1717