City of Birmingham v. Horn

In Alabama, a party may recover attorney fees only when an award is authorized by statute, is provided for by contract, or is justified by a "special equity." Horn v. City of Birmingham, 718 So.2d 691, 692 (Ala.Civ.App. 1997), rev'd, Ex parte Horn, 718 So.2d 694 (Ala. 1998); see also Blankenship v. City of Hoover, 590 So.2d 245 (Ala. 1991). A court may award an attorney fee on the basis that it is justified by a special equity "where the plaintiff's efforts are successful in creating a fund out of which the fees may be paid, or when the efforts of the plaintiff's attorneys render a public…