Washington v. Horton

HORTON, Judge.

As a general rule, in the absence of some contractual obligation or statutory authority, attorney fees may not be recovered by the successful litigant as damages or a part of the court costs. Hicks v. Albertson, 284 N.C. 236, 238, 200 S.E.2d 40, 42 (1973). In 1959, however, the North Carolina General Assembly enacted legislation now codified as N.C. Gen. Stat. § 6-21.1 which provided for an award of attorney fees as part of the costs in certain cases. After an amendment in 1963, the statute read as follows:

In any personal injury or property damage suit instituted in a court of…