T&R Painting Construction, Inc. v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co

In T&R Painting Construction, Inc. v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. (1994) 23 Cal. App. 4th 738, the subcontract entitled the prevailing party in any litigation to recover its attorney fees. ( T&R Painting, supra, 23 Cal. App. 4th at p. 742.) The general contractor terminated the subcontract on the grounds the subcontractor's work was defective. The dispute was arbitrated. The subcontractor prevailed and the arbitrator awarded the subcontractor its attorney fees and costs as the prevailing party on the subcontract. (Ibid.) The subcontractor thereafter went to trial against the general contractor's surety to determine the surety's liability on a payment bond for the attorney fees the subcontractor incurred in prosecuting its claims. (Ibid.)