Can a court order attorney's fees and costs in a divorce proceeding?

Civil Code section 4370 authorizes a court, in divorce proceedings, to order payment of costs and fees 'reasonably necessary' to maintain or defend proceedings before or after judgment; application for an order for costs and fees 'may be made without notice by an oral motion in open court.' The award of attorney's fees and costs is a matter for the discretion of the court which will not be reversed without a clear showing of abuse. (In re Marriage of Lepez (1974) 38 Cal.App.3d 93, 113, 113 Cal.Rptr. 58.) But where the wife has intrial court or take an appeal, the husband is able to pay a reasonable sum, and neither the initial proceeding nor the appeal are without substantial merit, the trial court commits error in denying any allowance for fees and costs. (Cf. Norris v. Norris (1942) 50 Cal.App.2d 726, 735, 123 P.2d 847.)