Steiger v. J.S. Builders, Inc.
Connecticut Appellate Court
663 A.2d 432, 39 Conn. App. 32 (1995)
- Written by Heather Whittemore, JD
Facts
Dennis and Carol Steiger (plaintiffs) contracted with a group of developers (defendant) to build a house. After a series of problems, including one developer’s hiring of an unlicensed plumber, the Steigers filed a lawsuit in Connecticut state court against the developers, alleging that the developers violated contract law and the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, the state’s unfair or deceptive acts or practices statute. The Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act provided that prevailing plaintiffs could be awarded reasonable attorney’s fees in addition to damages. The trial court ruled in favor of the Steigers, awarding over $26,000 in damages. The Steigers claimed that their attorney’s fees totaled over $22,000, but the court awarded only $7,500 in attorney’s fees. In reaching its decision, the trial court found that the requested attorney’s fees were unreasonable because they almost equaled the damages the Steigers were awarded. The Steigers appealed the award of attorney’s fees, arguing that the trial court applied the wrong standard to calculate the fees.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Landau, J.)
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