Halperin v. Pitts
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Subsection (1) of ORS 20.080 provides for an award of attorney fees to the plaintiff, if the plaintiff prevails in the action, plus prerequisites plaintiff must adhere to to collect the award. Subsection (2) provides for an award of fees to the defendant if the defendant pleads a counterclaim and the defendant prevails in the action. Subsection (2), however, does not mention any prerequisites to the award. The issue in this case was whether subsection (2) nevertheless should be read to require a defendant to have made a timely written demand as a prerequisite to recovering attorney fees under the statute. The Court of Appeals concluded that ORS 20.080(2) must be read to include the requirement. Upon review, the Supreme Court disagreed: "the legislature included no statutory wording that is reasonably capable of being read to require a defendant to tender a prelitigation demand as a prerequisite to recovering attorney fees."
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