H-3337              _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 1909

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1986 Regular Session

By Representatives Bond, Dobbs, Hastings, Sanders, Barnes, Fuhrman, P. King, C. Smith and Lundquist

Read first time 1/24/86 and referred to Committee on Judiciary.

AN ACT Relating to prevailing party attorney fees in civil actions; amending RCW 4.84.010; and adding new sections to chapter 4.84 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 4.84 RCW to read as follows:

          The legislature finds that the high cost of attorney fees discourages individuals from pursuing valid legal claims and defenses.  The legislature finds further that the existence of contingency fee arrangements encourages the instigation of cases that might not be brought if prevailing party fees were the rule.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 4.84 RCW to read as follows:

          In all civil litigation, with the exception of small claims court litigation, the court shall award reasonable attorneys' fees as part of the costs to the prevailing party.  The supreme court shall establish by rule the procedure for awarding attorneys' fees.  The allowance for attorneys' fees by the court shall not be construed as fixing the fees between attorney and client.

        Sec. 3.  Section 367, page 201, Laws of 1854 as last amended by section 92, chapter 258, Laws of 1984 and RCW 4.84.010 are each amended to read as follows:

          The measure and mode of compensation of attorneys and counselors, shall be left to the agreement, expressed or implied, of the parties, but there shall be allowed to the prevailing party upon the judgment certain sums by way of indemnity for the prevailing party's expenses in the action, which allowances are termed costs, including, in addition to costs otherwise authorized by law, the following expenses:

          (1) Filing fees;

          (2) Fees for the service of process;

          (3) Fees for service by publication;

          (4) Notary fees, but only to the extent the fees are for services that are expressly required by law and only to the extent they represent actual costs incurred by the prevailing party;

          (5) Reasonable expenses, ((exclusive of)) including attorneys' fees, incurred in obtaining reports and records, which are admitted into evidence at trial or in mandatory arbitration in superior or district court, including but not limited to medical records, tax records, personnel records, insurance reports, employment and wage records, police reports, school records, bank records, and legal files;

          (6) Statutory and rule attorney and witness fees; and

          (7) To the extent that the court or arbitrator finds that it was necessary to achieve the successful result, the reasonable expense of the transcription of depositions used at trial or at the mandatory arbitration hearing:  PROVIDED, That the expenses of depositions shall be allowed on a pro rata basis for those portions of the depositions introduced into evidence or used for purposes of impeachment.