How have attorney's fees been awarded in a lawsuit against a third party?

Apparently there is no case in this state which adjudges an award of attorney's fees where they have been made necessary in a lawsuit against a third party by the negligence of the defendant, as distinguished from the defendant's intentional tort, but there is no case directly against such an award. The Civil Code allows damages for detriment proximately caused by the breach of an obligation not arising from contract (Civ.Code, 3333), and although section 1021 of the Code of Civil Procedure leaves attorney's fees to the agreement of the parties, this does not expressly affect fees incurred in an action against someone else, and I believe the Civil Code section is not limited in such a case as this. In this case, the duty originated from a contract, but it was allowable for plaintiffs to sue for negligence in the performance. (Eads v. Marks, 39 Cal.2d 807, 249 P.2d 257.) To deprive plaintiffs of the fees makes them bear an expense which was caused by appellant, and lets appellant go free of the damages, and the only damages, which its negligence caused. It is conceivable that the award of fees arising from 'third party' or 'collateral' or 'principal' cases (they are variously called in the texts) should be limited

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