Allan v. Nerseova

In Allan v. Nerseova, 307 S.W.3d 564 (Tex. App.--Dallas 2010, no pet.), Allan pleaded thirteen claims against five defendants. At trial, Allan asserted only one cause of action against one defendant for which attorney's fees could be awarded. Id. Allan argued that she had no burden to segregate her fees because the tort and contract claims required proof of the same set of facts and circumstances and were intertwined to the point of being inseparable. The court of appeals noted that Allan failed to show that all her attorney's fees were incurred for legal services involving the breach of contract action. Id. "For example, the fees incurred in drafting the original and amended petitions and the jury charge relating to the tort claims were not recoverable, while the portion of the fees relating to the contract claim was recoverable." Id. at 573. Based on these findings, the court of appeals reversed the attorney's fee award and remanded the case for a new trial on the issue of attorney's fees. Id. at 573-74.