Talk:American rule (attorney's fees)

Plain Meaning Rule links here and says that the American rule is the prodominant rule for statutory construction in the US. However, that makes no sense given the definition here. What is the American rule of statutory construction? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 217.132.64.177 (talk • contribs).

Untitled
Prior to October 8, 2005, this article said: "The American rule is a rule of statutory construction whereby the court first look to the language of the statute (plain meaning). If the language is unclear or ambiguous, or if the result of using the plain meaning would lead to unreasonable results, the court turns to the Mischief rule, whereby the court determines the legislative intent of a statute to determine how to interpret it in the context of a particular case."

I guess this is what the link from Plain Meaning Rule was referring to. However, on the date mentioned, a user changed the article to what it is now, saying that the previous text was wrong as the American Rule was not a rule of statutory construction. It seems as if there are two "American Rules," and I propose defining both of them here (a disambiguition page would not be necessary, given the modest length of both definitions so far). —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 132.180.252.57 (talk • contribs).


 * Yes, there appear to be two, and for each one there is also a corresponding "British Rule" to contrast with. In particular, the "Golden" or "British" rule of plain-meaning statutory construction contrasts with the "American" rule of legislative intent, whereas the "British" rule of loser-pays attorneys' fees contrasts with the "American" rule of each-side-pays. --Delirium 12:31, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

--- Completely aside, i think the "American Rule" of each side paying is consistant with the general "old west" ethic of america, as many suits are precluded by the cost of litigation, giving the wealthier party an often insurmountable advantage regardless of the merits of the case.Bstender (talk) 19:47, 8 July 2008 (UTC)

There is no "American Rule" for statutory interpretation. Instead there is a hierarchy of rules. First, look at the plain meaning. If that answers your questions, stop there. If the plain meaning isn't on point or would yield an absurd result, then look at other guidance (which can include legislative intent, among other sources. Legislative intent can range from a Preamble to the law as passed to speeches made during debate on the bill to literature prepared to explain the bill to voters and/or the media, and therefore can be controversial as a source of guidance.). Other secondary sources include: scholarly articles; how courts in other jurisdictions have interpreted similar laws; other laws on the books that interplay with the law at issue; and public policy. To be clear, "legislative intent" is not the automatic fall-back for guidance when a law is unclear. It is just one of many possible sources of guidance. The courts typically will go with whichever guidance makes the law most harmonious with common sense, public policy (when applicable), and the statutory framework as a whole. Reallypablo (talk) 18:29, 12 December 2013 (UTC)

Property meaning
An "English rule" and corresponding "American rule" are also recognized in landlord-tenant law. See Hannan v. Dusch, 153 S.E. 824 (Virginia 1930) which favored the American rule: by default, landlord has no duty to evict prior tenants before leasing to a new tenant. Robert K S (talk) 20:16, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

Other examples of being awarded attorney's fees
Delaware Supreme Court has stated that a court exercising equitable principles (i.e., the Delaware Court of Chancery, quite possibly the most important court in the US for commercial litigation matters) can award attorneys fees as appropriate. For example, see http://www.delawgroup.com/dth/?page_id=583. I note that the link goes to a Trial Handbook that is often referred to for guidance by Delaware attorneys as they learn the litigation process. Reallypablo (talk) 18:19, 12 December 2013 (UTC)

Oklahoma Adoption of English Rule
The adoption of the English Rule by Oklahoma, as described in Exceptions, actually never became effective.

Although HB 1470 was passed by the Oklahoma legislature and signed by the governor, the rule, which was to have taken effect in November 2017, never actually took effect. That provision was repealed by HB 1570, passed in late May 2017. See https://nondoc.com/2017/05/25/oklahoma-legislature-restores-american-rule/. Fabrickator (talk) 17:59, 2 July 2019 (UTC)