Township of Roxbury v. Plumstead

The sole question in this case is whether the Court of Common Pleas has power to award counsel fees to a successful litigant on a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court and thereafter to the Court of Errors and Appeals for professional services rendered on the appeal.

The allowance of counsel fees is a matter of statutory authority and if no such authority existed the court is power*1035less to award them. The only statute relied on by the respondent, section 20 of the Workmen’s Compensation act, reads as follows: “The said Court of Common Pleas may, in its discretion, allow a reasonable attorney…