Attorney fee segregation requirement not necessarily enforced by the court

  
Opposing party may waive complaint about failure to segregate recoverable from unrecoverable fees by failing to object in a timely fashion


Because an award of attorney's fees must be authorized by statute or contract, a party presenting more than one claim in a single cause must segregate attorney's fees between claims for which attorney's fees are or are not recoverable. See Tony Gullo Motors I, L.P. v. Chapa, 212 S.W.3d 299, 310-11 (Tex. 2006).
  
However, if no one objects to the fact that the attorney's fees are not segregated as to specific claims, the objection is waived. Green Int'l, Inc. v. Solis, 951 S.W.2d 384, 389 (Tex. 1997) (citing Hruska v. First State Bank of Deanville, 747 S.W.2d 783, 785 (Tex. 1988)); Pitts & Collard, L.L.P. v. Schechter, —S.W.3d—, No. 01-08-00969-CV, 2011 WL 6938515, at *14 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] Dec. 29, 2011, no pet. h.) (objection to request for attorney's fees "must be made before the trial court renders judgment"). Morton failed to object at the trial court that the Nguyens should be required to segregate their request for attorney's fees, and such failure waived this issue for appellate review. See Red Rock Props. 2005, Ltd. v. Chase Home Fin., L.L.C., No. 14-08-00352-CV, 2009 WL 1795037, at *6-7 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] June 25, 2009, no pet.) (mem. op.) (objection that attorney's fees were not segregated was not preserved in trial court); Fortenberry v. Cavanaugh, No. 03-07-00310-CV, 2008 WL 4997568, at *11-12 (Tex. App.-Austin Nov. 26, 2008, pet. denied) (mem. op.) (same); see also TEX. R. APP. P. 33.1(a)(1). We overrule Morton's Issue 16.

SOURCE: FOURTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS - HOUSTON - No. 14-11-00126-CV - 5/17/12 (substituted opinion)

EXCEPTION TO SEGREGATION REQUIREMENT IN CASE OF MULTIPLE PARTIES REPRESENTED BY SAME ATTORNEY

"When a lawsuit involves multiple claims or parties, the proponent of attorney's fees must segregate recoverable fees from those incurred by parties or on claims for which fees are not recoverable." Clearview Props., L.P. v. Prop. Tex. SC One Corp., 287 S.W.3d 132, 143 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2009, pet. denied) (citing Tony Gullo Motors I, L.P. v. Chapa, 212 S.W.3d 299, 313 (Tex. 2006)). Attorney's fees that relate solely to a claim for which fees are unrecoverable must be segregated. Chapa, 212 S.W.3d at 313. The Supreme Court of Texas has held that attorney's fees are recoverable only as provided by contract or statute, and it "eliminated the exception for fees incurred solely on separate but arguably intertwined claims." Varner v. Cardenas, 218 S.W.3d 68, 69 (Tex. 2007) (citing Chapa, 212 S.W.3d at 313). But the Supreme Court did not require that all fees be segregated even when incurred by co-defendants jointly represented by the same counsel and when such fees are incurred as a result of the same discrete tasks and work.

SOURCE: HOUSTON COURT OF APPEALS - 01-13-00855-CV – 12/30/2014