Attorney Fees

C.R.S. tit. 13, art. 17
in effect

C.R.S. § 13-17-101 Legislative declaration

13-17-101. Legislative declaration. The general assembly recognizes that courts of record of this state have become increasingly burdened with litigation which is straining the judicial system and interfering with the effective administration of civil justice. In response to this problem, the general assembly hereby sets forth provisions for the recovery of attorney fees or licensed legal paraprofessional fees in courts of record when the bringing or defense of an action, or part thereof (including any claim for exemplary damages), is determined to have been substantially frivolous, substantially groundless, or substantially vexatious. All courts shall liberally construe the provisions of this article 17 to effectuate substantial justice and comply with the intent set forth in this section.

C.R.S. § 13-17-102 Attorney fees - licensed legal paraprofessional - definitions

13-17-102. Attorney fees - licensed legal paraprofessional - definitions. (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, in any civil action of any nature commenced or appealed in any court of record in this state, the court may award, except as this article otherwise provides, as part of its judgment and in addition to any costs otherwise assessed, reasonable attorney fees. (1.5) Subject to the provisions of this section, in any civil action, as described in section 13-93-302, commenced or appealed in any court of record in this state, the court may award, except as provided in this article 17, as part of its judgment and in addition to any costs otherwise assessed, reasonable licensed legal paraprofessional fees. (2) Subject to the limitations set forth elsewhere in this article, in any civil action of any nature commenced or appealed in any court of record in this state, the court shall award, by way of judgment or separate order, reasonable attorney fees against any attorney or party who has brought or defended a civil action, either in whole or in part, that the court determines lacked substantial justification. (2.1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part 1, the filing of a certificate of review pursuant to section 13-20-602 related to any licensed health-care professional creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim or action is not frivolous or groundless, but it does not relieve the plaintiff or the plaintiff's attorney or licensed legal paraprofessional from ongoing obligations under rule 11 of Colorado rules of civil procedure. (2.5) Subject to the limitations set forth elsewhere in this article 17, in any civil action, as described in section 13-93-302, commenced or appealed in any court of record in this state, the court shall award, by way of judgment or separate order, reasonable licensed legal paraprofessional fees against any attorney, licensed legal paraprofessional, or party who has brought or defended a civil action, either in whole or in part, that the court determines lacked substantial justification. (3) When a court determines that reasonable attorney fees or reasonable licensed legal paraprofessional fees should be assessed, the court shall allocate the payment of the fees among the offending attorneys, licensed legal paraprofessionals, and parties, jointly or severally, as the court deems most just, and may charge an amount or portion to any offending attorney, licensed legal paraprofessional, or party. (4) The court shall assess attorney fees or licensed legal paraprofessional fees if, upon the motion of any party or the court itself, the court finds that an attorney, licensed legal paraprofessional, or party brought or defended an action, or any part of an action, that lacked substantial justification or that the action, or any part of the action, was interposed for delay or harassment or if the court finds that an attorney, licensed legal paraprofessional, or party unnecessarily expanded the proceeding by other improper conduct, including, but not limited to, abuses of discovery procedures available under the Colorado rules of civil procedure or a designation by a defending party pursuant to section 13-21-111.5 (3) that lacked substantial justification. (5) Attorney fees or licensed legal paraprofessional fees shall not be assessed if, after filing suit, a voluntary dismissal is filed as to any claim or action within a reasonable time after the attorney, licensed legal paraprofessional, or party filing the dismissal knew, or reasonably should have known, that the attorney, licensed legal paraprofessional, or party would not prevail on the claim or action. ney fees or licensed legal paraprofessional fees shall not be assessed if, after filing suit, a voluntary dismissal is filed as to any claim or action within a reasonable time after the attorney, licensed legal paraprofessional, or party filing the dismissal knew, or reasonably should have known, that the attorney, licensed legal paraprofessional, or party would not prevail on the claim or action. (6) A party who is appearing without an attorney or licensed legal paraprofessional shall not be assessed attorney fees or licensed legal paraprofessional fees unless the court finds that the party clearly knew or reasonably should have known that the party's action or defense, or any part of the action or defense, was substantially frivolous, substantially groundless, or substantially vexatious; except that this subsection (6) does not apply to situations in which an attorney or legal paraprofessional licensed to practice law in this state is appearing without an attorney or a licensed legal paraprofessional, in which case, the attorney or licensed legal paraprofessional is held to the standards established for attorneys or licensed legal paraprofessionals elsewhere in this article 17. (7) No attorney, licensed legal paraprofessional, or party shall be assessed attorney fees or licensed legal paraprofessional fees for any claim or defense that the court determines was asserted by the attorney, licensed legal paraprofessional, or party in a good faith attempt to establish a new theory of law in Colorado. (8) This section shall not apply to traffic offenses, matters brought under the provisions of the "Colorado Children's Code", title 19, C.R.S., or related juvenile matters, or matters involving violations of municipal ordinances. (9) As used in this article 17, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) "Lacked substantial justification" means substantially frivolous, substantially groundless, or substantially vexatious. (b) "Licensed legal paraprofessional" means an individual licensed by the Colorado supreme court pursuant to Colorado rules of civil procedure and article 93 of this title 13 to perform certain types of legal services. A "licensed legal paraprofessional" does not include an individual with a general license to practice law in Colorado.

C.R.S. § 13-17-103 Procedure for determining reasonable fee - judicial discretion

13-17-103. Procedure for determining reasonable fee - judicial discretion. (1) In determining the amount of an attorney fee or licensed legal paraprofessional fee award, the court shall exercise sound discretion. When granting an award of attorney fees or licensed legal paraprofessional fees, the court shall specifically set forth the reasons for the award and must consider the following factors, among others, in determining whether to assess attorney fees or licensed legal paraprofessional fees and the amount of fees to be assessed against any offending attorney, licensed legal paraprofessional, or party: (a) The extent of any effort made to determine the validity of any action or claim before said action or claim was asserted; (b) The extent of any effort made after the commencement of an action to reduce the number of claims or defenses being asserted or to dismiss claims or defenses found not to be valid within an action; (c) The availability of facts to assist a party in determining the validity of a claim or defense; (d) The relative financial positions of the parties involved; (e) Whether or not the action was prosecuted or defended, in whole or in part, in bad faith; (f) Whether or not issues of fact determinative of the validity of a party's claim or defense were reasonably in conflict; (g) The extent to which the party prevailed with respect to the amount of and number of claims in controversy; (h) The amount and conditions of any offer of judgment or settlement as related to the amount and conditions of the ultimate relief granted by the court.

C.R.S. § 13-17-104 Fee arrangements between attorney or licensed legal paraprofessional and client

13-17-104. Fee arrangements between attorney or licensed legal paraprofessional and client. The attorney or licensed legal paraprofessional and the client are free to negotiate in private the actual fee that the client is to pay the client's attorney or licensed legal paraprofessional.

C.R.S. § 13-17-105 Stipulation as to fees

13-17-105. Stipulation as to fees. With the approval of the court, two or more parties to an action may agree, by written stipulation filed with the court or by oral stipulation in open court, to no award of attorney fees or licensed legal paraprofessional fees or an award of attorney fees or licensed legal paraprofessional fees in a manner different from that provided in this article 17.

C.R.S. § 13-17-106 Applicability

13-17-106. Applicability. This article 17 applies in all cases covered by this article 17 unless attorney fees or licensed legal paraprofessional fees are otherwise specifically provided by statute, in which case the provision allowing the greater award prevails.

C.R.S. § 13-17-201 Award of reasonable attorney fees in certain cases

13-17-201. Award of reasonable attorney fees in certain cases. (1) In all actions brought as a result of a death or an injury to person or property occasioned by the tort of any other persons, where any such action is dismissed on motion of the defendant prior to trial under rule 12 (b) of the Colorado rules of civil procedure, such defendant shall have judgment for his reasonable attorney fees in defending the action. This subsection (1) does not apply if a motion under rule 12 (b) of the Colorado rules of civil procedure is treated as a motion for summary judgment and disposed of as provided in rule 56 of the Colorado rules of civil procedure. (2) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to any claim that is a good faith, non-frivolous claim filed for the express purpose of extending, limiting, modifying, or reversing existing precedent, law, or regulation; or for the express purpose of establishing the meaning, lawfulness, or constitutionality of a law, regulation, or United States or state constitutional right and the meaning, lawfulness, or constitutionality has not been determined by the Colorado supreme court, or for cases presenting questions under the United States constitution, to the Supreme Court of the United States. This subsection (2) applies so long as the party that brought the dismissed claim has pleaded, in its complaint, counterclaim, or cross claim, that the dismissed claim was made for one of the express purposes stated in this subsection (2) and identified the precedent, law, or regulation the party seeks to extend, limit, modify, or reverse, or whether the issue to be decided is a matter of first impression.

C.R.S. § 13-17-202 Award of actual costs and fees when offer of settlement was made

13-17-202. Award of actual costs and fees when offer of settlement was made. (1) (a) Notwithstanding any other statute to the contrary, except as provided in section 24-10-106.3, C.R.S., in any civil action of any nature commenced or appealed in any court of record in this state: (I) If the plaintiff serves an offer of settlement in writing at any time more than fourteen days before the commencement of the trial that is rejected by the defendant, and the plaintiff recovers a final judgment in excess of the amount offered, then the plaintiff shall be awarded actual costs accruing after the offer of settlement to be paid by the defendant. (II) If the defendant serves an offer of settlement in writing at any time more than fourteen days before the commencement of the trial that is rejected by the plaintiff, and the plaintiff does not recover a final judgment in excess of the amount offered, then the defendant shall be awarded actual costs accruing after the offer of settlement to be paid by the plaintiff. However, as provided in section 13-16-104, if the plaintiff is the prevailing party in the action, the plaintiff's final judgment shall include the amount of the plaintiff's actual costs that accrued prior to the offer of settlement. (III) If an offer of settlement is not accepted in writing within fourteen days after service of the offer, the offer shall be deemed rejected, and the party who made the offer is not precluded from making a subsequent offer. Evidence thereof is not admissible except in a proceeding to determine costs. (IV) If an offer of settlement is accepted in writing within fourteen days after service of the offer, the offer of settlement shall constitute a binding settlement agreement, fully enforceable by the court in which the civil action is pending. (V) An offer of settlement under this section shall remain open for at least fourteen days from the date of service unless withdrawn by service of withdrawal of the offer of settlement. (VI) An offer of settlement served at any time fourteen days or less before the commencement of the trial shall not be subject to this section, and evidence thereof is not admissible for any purpose. (b) For purposes of this section, "actual costs" shall not include attorney fees but shall mean costs actually paid or owed by the party, or his or her attorneys or agents, in connection with the case, including but not limited to filing fees, subpoena fees, reasonable expert witness fees, copying costs, court reporter fees, reasonable investigative expenses and fees, reasonable travel expenses, exhibit or visual aid preparation or presentation expenses, legal research expenses, and all other similar fees and expenses. (2) When comparing the amount of any offer of settlement to the amount of a final judgment actually awarded, any amount of the final judgment representing interest subsequent to the date of the offer in settlement shall not be considered. (3) When the liability of one party to another has been determined by verdict or order or judgment, but the amount or extent of the liability remains to be determined by further proceedings, the party adjudged liable may make an offer of settlement, which shall have the same effect as an offer made before trial (except with respect to costs already incurred) if it is served pursuant to subsection (1) of this section.

C.R.S. § 13-17-203 Limitation on attorney fees in class action litigation against public entities

13-17-203. Limitation on attorney fees in class action litigation against public entities. If the plaintiffs prevail in any class action litigation brought against any public entity, as defined in section 24-10-103 (5), C.R.S., the amount of attorney fees which the plaintiffs' attorney is entitled to receive out of any award to the plaintiffs shall be determined by the court; except that such amount shall not exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars. Such limitation shall apply where the public entity pays the attorney fees directly to the plaintiffs' attorneys or where the public entity is required to pay the attorney fees indirectly through any program it administers by reducing the benefits or amounts due to the individual plaintiffs.

C.R.S. § 13-17-301 Short title

13-17-301. Short title. This part 3 shall be known and may be cited as the "Government Attorney Ethics Act".

C.R.S. § 13-17-302 Legislative declaration

13-17-302. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that: (a) In recent years, it has become increasingly common for governmental entities to retain attorneys pursuant to contingent fee contracts and disputes have arisen in several states regarding the amount and propriety of contingent fees; (b) Contingent fees are intended to enable persons of modest means to obtain legal representation that they might not otherwise be able to afford but governmental entities have resources that are unavailable to individual citizens; (c) Governmental entities should be required to fully consider the costs and risks of litigation before retaining an attorney pursuant to a contingent fee contract; (d) The department of law ordinarily represents the interests of the state of Colorado; (e) Governmental officials, including attorneys who represent governmental entities on a contractual basis, are entrusted to protect the health, safety, and well-being of citizens and it is the policy of the state that a person who exercises authority on behalf of a governmental entity generally should not have a personal financial stake in the outcome of litigation initiated on behalf of the governmental entity; (f) A contingent fee contract that gives an attorney who is retained to represent a governmental entity a direct personal stake in the outcome of legal proceedings is potentially unfair to the citizens or businesses against whom the governmental entity has filed suit and may not serve the best interests of the citizens or businesses on whose behalf the governmental entity initiates legal proceedings; (g) Because contingent fee contracts do not require the appropriation of moneys, such contracts circumvent the system of checks and balances that ordinarily provides accountability for decisions of governmental entities and it is appropriate to limit contingent fee contracts to ensure that the decision-making process is protected; (h) A contingent fee contract may result in the payment of excessive attorney fees by a governmental entity, thereby denying citizens represented by government the full measure of justice awarded by the courts; (i) It is in the best interest of the people of Colorado to limit the circumstances in which governmental entities may retain private attorneys pursuant to contingent fee contracts.

C.R.S. § 13-17-303 Definitions

13-17-303. Definitions. As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Contingent fee" means a fee for legal services that is contingent in whole or in part upon the successful outcome of the matter for which the legal services were retained. (2) "Contingent fee contract" or "contract" means a contract for legal services in which the amount of the fee to be paid for the legal services depends in whole or in part upon the successful outcome of the matter for which the services were obtained. The term also includes any contract that specifies that fees for legal services will be determined by a court or an arbitrator or any provision of a settlement agreement that requires the opposing party to pay fees for legal services directly to a private attorney retained by a governmental entity pursuant to a contingent fee contract. (3) "Governmental entity" means the state, any department or agency of the state, and any state-sponsored institution of higher education.

C.R.S. § 13-17-304 Limitation on contingent fees - applicability

13-17-304. Limitation on contingent fees - applicability. (1) (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, and notwithstanding any other provision of law, a contingent fee contract between a governmental entity and a private attorney shall: (I) Require the private attorney to maintain and provide to the governmental entity on a monthly basis a contemporaneous record of the hours of legal services provided by individual attorneys, the nature of such services, and any court costs incurred during each month and in the aggregate from the effective date of the contingent fee contract; (II) Require the private attorney, upon the successful resolution of the matter for which the private attorney was retained, to provide to the governmental entity a statement of the hours of legal services provided by attorneys, the nature of such services, the amount of court costs incurred, the total amount of the contingent fee, and the average hourly rate for legal services provided by attorneys; and (III) Specify an alternative hourly rate, not to exceed one thousand dollars per hour, at which the attorney shall be compensated in the event that the statement provided by the attorney indicates an average hourly rate for legal services provided by attorneys of more than one thousand dollars per hour. (b) The average hourly rate for legal services provided by attorneys shall be determined by dividing the amount of the contingent fee, less the amount of court costs incurred if said amount is part of the contingent fee, by the number of hours of legal services provided by attorneys. Clerical work, including but not limited to transcription, photocopying, and document filing and organization, shall not be considered legal services provided by attorneys even if an attorney performs such work. (2) The limitations and requirements of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to any contingent fee contract entered into by a governmental entity prior to August 6, 2003. (3) The limitations and requirements of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to any contingent fee contract entered into by a governmental entity if the contract is for legal services performed by an attorney in connection with the collection of debts or taxes owed to a governmental entity and was entered into pursuant to section 23-3.1-104 (1)(f) or (2)(i), 23-5-113 (1), 24-30-202.4, or 39-21-114, C.R.S., or any other statutory provision that expressly authorizes or requires the payment of a portion of the moneys collected to an attorney retained to collect such debts or taxes. (4) Compliance with this part 3 does not relieve a contracting attorney of any obligation or legal responsibility imposed by the Colorado rules of professional conduct or any provision of law.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-13.docxFetched: 10/6/2026

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