Is a plaintiff entitled to an award of attorneys' fees and costs incurred in pursuit of damages not compensated by their insurer?

Furthermore, as plaintiffs noted below, "the subrogation payment does not settle other damages uncompenstated by insurance, including other property damages, emotional distress and attorney's fees." Thus, to the extent plaintiffs alleged damages for which the insurer did not and would not pay, an award of attorneys' fees and costs incurred in pursuit of those damages would remain legally cognizable. Here, plaintiffs alleged damages for diminution of their home values and emotional distress, damages for which an insurer would be unlikely to compensate a homeowner. (Smith v. County of Los Angeles (1989) 214 Cal.App.3d 266, 288-289 [emotional distress damages may be awarded in a nuisance action].) Verizon ultimately settled the matter with plaintiffs; thus, plaintiffs were also legally entitled to an award of attorneys' fees and costs, upon proper showing, for costs incurred in pursuit of damages not compensated by their insurer.

D. THE COURT'S EXERCISE OF ITS DISCRETION IN AWARDING ATTORNEYS' FEES AND COSTS