Recovering Attorneys' Fees in Washington State - The One-Sided Attorneys' Fee Clause

Some contracts include a "one-sided attorneys' fee clause."  You will often find these in contracts where there is unequal bargaining power such as leases, consumer financing contracts and telecom contracts.   

A one-sided attorneys fee clause only allows one party (the party with the weaker bargaining power) to recover attorneys' fees and costs in the case of a dispute and reads something like this:  

"The Company may institute immediate action to enforce the payment of charges due and owing it, including the pursuit of all remedies available in law or equity. Customer will be responsible for paying any collection and attorney fees reasonably incurred by the Company in seeking payments owed by Customer."  

Not so fast.   

Under Washington law, courts are required to treat these one-sided attorneys' clauses as reciprocal with the award of attorneys fees going to the prevailing party regardless of what the contract says:   

RCW 4.84.330 provides: 

​In any action on a contract or lease entered into after September 21, 1977, where such contract or lease specifically provides that attorneys' fees and costs, which are incurred to enforce the provisions of such contract or lease, shall be awarded to one of the parties, the prevailing party, whether he or she is the party specified in the contract or lease or not, shall be entitled to reasonable attorneys' fees in addition to costs and necessary disbursements.
​
Attorneys' fees provided for by this section shall not be subject to waiver by the parties to any contract or lease which is entered into after September 21, 1977. Any provision in any such contract or lease which provides for a waiver of attorneys' fees is void.

As used in this section "prevailing party" means the party in whose favor final judgment is rendered.

​So, in the event your contract includes a one-sided attorneys fee clause, just know that the court is required to award attorneys fees and costs to you regardless of this unfair contractual term being a part of your contract. 

Contact Mark D. Walters