Attorney's Fees In Cases Which Involve More Than One Claim

Generally, the party seeking attorney's fees has the duty to segregate the attorney's fees incurred for the claims where attorney's fees are recoverable from those where attorney's fees are not recoverable. See Stewart Title Guar. Co., 822 S.W.2d at 10-11; Flint & Assoc. v. Intercon. Pipe & Steel, 739 S.W.2d 622, 624 (Tex. App.--Dallas 1987, writ denied). An exception to the duty to segregate arises when the attorney's fees incurred involve claims arising out of the same transaction and their interrelation is such that their prosecution or defense entails proof or denial of essentially the same facts. Stewart Title Guar. Co., 822 S.W.2d at 11. Therefore, when the causes of action involved in the suit are dependent upon the same set of facts or circumstances and thus are "intertwined to the point of being inseparable," the party suing for attorney's fees may recover the entire amount covering all claims. Id.; McLendon v. McLendon, 862 S.W.2d 662, 673 (Tex.App.-Dallas 1993, writ denied). It is generally true that where a case involves more than one claim, only fees attributable to authorized claims are recoverable. See International Sec. Life Ins. Co. v. Finck, 496 S.W.2d 544, 546-47 (Tex. 1973). However, a party failing to object to the failure to segregate attorneys' fees between authorized and unauthorized claims waives any appellate error. See Hruska v. First State Bank of Deanville, 747 S.W.2d 783, 785 (Tex. 1988).