Is attorney fees allowable as costs under section 1032 of the California Code of Civil Procedure?

Code of Civil Procedure section 1032 addresses only costs, not attorney's fees. (See Sears v. Baccaglio, supra, 60 Cal.App.4th at p. 1142.) However, Code of Civil

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Procedure section 1033.5 describes the items allowable as costs and provides that attorney's fees are allowable as costs under section 1032, "when authorized by any of the following: (A) Contract. (B) Statute. (C) Law." (Code Civ. Proc., 1033.5, subd. (a)(10).) In other words, "recoverable litigation costs do include attorney fees, but only when the party entitled to costs has a legal basis, independent of the cost statutes and grounded in an agreement, statute, or other law, upon which to claim recovery of attorney fees." (Santisas v. Goodin, supra, 17 Cal.4th at p. 606.)