Is a plaintiff entitled to a total of attorney fees as costs?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from Retzloff v. Moulton Parkway Residents' Ass'n, 14 Cal.App.5th 742, 222 Cal.Rptr.3d 330 (Cal. App. 2017):

Code of Civil Procedure section 1021 states that attorney fees are awarded only when specifically provided for by statute. "[A]ny costs" does not specifically provide for payment of attorney fees. ( 5235(c).) Section 5235(c) authorizes the recovery of costs, not costs in addition to attorney fees. In interpreting a statute, we do "not ... change its scope by reading into it language it does not contain or by reading out of it language it does. We may not rewrite the statute to conform to an assumed intention that does not appear in its language. [Citation.]" ( Vasquez v. State of California (2008) 45 Cal.4th 243, 253, 85 Cal.Rptr.3d 466, 195 P.3d 1049.) We must interpret x to mean x, not x plus y. Costs by its plain meaning does not mean costs plus attorney fees.

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