English rule (legal term)

This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on English rule (legal term) is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:

In the field of law and economics, the English rule (capitalized as English Rule in some jurisdictions) is a rule controlling assessment of attorneys' fees arising out of litigation. The English rule provides that the party who loses in court pays the other party's attorney's fees. The English rule contrasts with the American rule, under which each party is generally responsible to pay its own attorneys' fees, unless a statute or contract provides for that assessment. The rationale for the English rule is that a litigant (whether bringing a claim or defending a claim) is entitled to legal representation and, if successful, should not be left out of pocket by reason of his own legal fees. It should be borne in mind that in virtually all English civil litigation damages are merely compensatory.

See also

References

  • Black's Law Dictionary (8th Ed. 2004).

External links

Walter Olson, "Loser Pays"

Wikipedia content modification information:

  • This page was last modified on 28 December 2008, at 18:24.

Wikipedia Authorship and Review

Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.

Wikipedia Usage Guidelines

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "English rule (legal term)".

The URL for this specific entry is:

All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.