California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Mave Enters., Inc. v. Travelers Indem. Co., B241807 (Cal. App. 2013):
1. Technically, Mave did not seek an award of "attorney fees." "When an insurer's tortious conduct reasonably compels the insured to retain an attorney to obtain the benefits due under a policy, it follows that the insurer should be liable in a tort action for that expense. The attorney's fees are an economic lossdamagesproximately caused by the tort. . . . These fees must be distinguished from recovery of attorney's fees qua attorney's fees, such as those attributable to the bringing of the bad faith action itself. What we consider here is attorney's fees that are recoverable as damages resulting from a tort in the same way that medical fees would be part of the damages in a personal injury action." (Brandt v. Superior Court (1985) 37 Cal.3d 813, 817 (Brandt), citation omitted.)
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