2012 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 52 - Civil Actions
Chapter 901 - Damages, Costs and Fees
Section 52-249 - Costs and attorney’s fees in actions for foreclosure and substitution of bond.

(a) The plaintiff in any action of foreclosure of a mortgage or lien, upon obtaining judgment of foreclosure, when there has been a hearing as to the form of judgment or the limitation of time for redemption, shall be allowed the same costs, including a reasonable attorney’s fee, as if there had been a hearing on an issue of fact. The same costs and fees shall be recoverable as part of the judgment in any action upon a bond which has been substituted for a mechanic’s lien.

(b) In any foreclosure judgment when a lis pendens had been recorded after a title search of real property, the court shall determine a reasonable fee to be paid for the search and tax it as part of the costs.

(1949 Rev., S. 7994; 1969, P.A. 440; P.A. 82-160, S. 123; P.A. 84-282, S. 1; P.A. 99-153, S. 8.)

History: 1969 act added Subsec. (b) re fees for title searches in foreclosure judgments; P.A. 82-160 replaced real “estate” with real “property”; P.A. 84-282 amended Subsec. (a) to include reasonable attorney’s fees as allowable costs; P.A. 99-153 amended Subsec. (a) to allow recovery of costs and attorney’s fees in cases where a bond has been substituted for a mechanic’s lien.

Cited. 22 CA 468. According to statute, plaintiff must argue for attorney’s fees during foreclosure action. Thus, whether plaintiff is entitled to attorney’s fees under statute is a question of law for court to decide in the foreclosure action. Because it is a question of law, attorney trial referee cannot decide the issue. 70 CA 404. Attorney’s fees under section include fees incurred on appeal as well as at the trial level. 118 CA 367.

Plaintiff not entitled to counsel fees for protracted trial on plaintiff’s claims for contract prices of two jobs and on defendant’s counterclaims of offsets against contract price; there never was a hearing on form of the judgment or the time of redemption as required under statute. 49 CS 405.

Subsec. (a):

Cited. 19 CA 8. In action to foreclose mechanic’s lien, plaintiff is not entitled to duplicate attorney’s fees under this section and Sec. 42-150aa but rather may collect under Sec. 42-150aa for contract aspects of action and under this section for equitable relief. 86 CA 767. Award of attorney’s fees proper where court entered judgment of foreclosure in favor of plaintiff, regardless of whether plaintiff prevailed. 122 CA 686.