Montana Code 69-14-709. Allowance of attorney fees
69-14-709. Allowance of attorney fees. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), whenever any of the livestock referred to in this part are injured or killed and the owner brings an action for the recovery of the loss or damage sustained, the court in which the action is brought shall impose, as a part of the costs, a reasonable sum to be fixed by the court as a fee to the attorney of the prevailing or successful party for conducting the action. The fee must be collected in the same manner as other costs.
Terms Used In Montana Code 69-14-709
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
- Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203
(2)A fee may not be allowed by the court or collected from the defendant when it appears from the pleadings or proof in an action that the defendant prior to the institution of the action offered or agreed to pay to the plaintiff, in settlement of the loss or damages claimed, a sum equal to or in excess of the amount recovered as damages in the action or unless the plaintiff, at least 40 days prior to the commencement of the action, has made a demand, in writing, upon the defendant, the defendant’s agent, or the defendant’s attorney for the money claimed as indemnity for the killing of the livestock.