Buck v. Proctor & Gamble Manufacturing Co.

MARTIN (Robert M.), Judge.

The defendant has presented one issue for our review. The question he raises is whether, under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 97-88, the North Carolina Industrial Commission can order defendant, ex mero motu, to pay plaintiffs attorney fees for services rendered on appeal to the Court of Appeals, when the Court of Appeals had previously entered an order denying those same attorney fees.

Attorney fees are not ordinarily allowed as costs in civil actions or in special proceedings unless expressly authorized by statute. Bowman v. Chair Co., 271 N.C. 702, 157 S.E. 2d 378 (1967).…