Alliance Shippers, Inc. v. Always Transport, Inc.

MEMORANDUM

Alliance Shippers, Inc. appeals the district court’s denial of its request for an award of attorney’s fees and treble damages against Always Transport, Inc. We affirm.

(1) Contract. The district court granted judgment against Always based upon its determination that Always had improperly withheld (converted) a trailer that Alliance owned. Alliance asserts that the district court erred when it denied Alliance attorney’s fees, despite the presence of an attorney’s fee provision in a contract between Alliance and Always. We disagree. Attorney’s fees are not generally available in Washington, and, while they can be provided for contractually, whether they can be awarded in any particular case depends upon the scope of the contract provision and whether the action in question is actually based upon that contract. The provision in this case covers “property, cargo, or commodities” being shipped, not the trailer. More than that, the conversion claim could be (and was) determined without reference to the contract itself, and the causal connection between the contract and the conversion was not sufficient under Washington law — mere “but for” causation will not do. See…