# Fees and Costs in Oregon Consumer-Debt Cases

Fee recovery is often the dominant strategic consideration in
debt-defense cases — both for defendant pursuing prevailing-
party fees and for resisting plaintiff's fee claims.

> **NOT LEGAL ADVICE.** Verify current statutes.

## Defendant's prevailing-party fee paths

When defendant prevails (dismissal, judgment for defendant on
the complaint, favorable settlement, judgment on counterclaim),
fees may be available from multiple sources. Pleading all of
them preserves maximum recovery.

### Path 1: FDCPA § 1692k(a)(3)

**Mandatory** when defendant prevails on an FDCPA claim:

- "Reasonable attorney fees" and costs
- Available to consumer-prevailing party
- Not available to debt-collector-prevailing party (unlike
  some statutes — FDCPA is one-way)

Procedurally: file the Statement of Attorney Fees under ORCP
68 C(2) within 14 days of judgment.

### Path 2: Oregon UTPA — ORS 646.638(3)

**Mandatory** when defendant prevails on a UTPA counterclaim:

- "Reasonable attorney fees and costs"
- Lodestar calculation per *Strawn v. Farmers Ins. Co.*, 353
  Or 210 (2013)
- ORS 20.075 factors apply

### Path 3: ORS 697.085

**Mandatory** when defendant prevails on an ORS 697 violation:

- "Reasonable attorney fees and costs"
- $200 statutory minimum
- Actual damages

### Path 4: ORS 20.105 — Objectively unreasonable position

**Discretionary** when plaintiff's position is "objectively
unreasonable":

- Available against any party
- Standard: *Mattiza v. Foster*, 311 Or 1 (1990)
- Particularly applicable to:
  - Time-barred-debt suits (plaintiff knew or should have
    known)
  - Suits without authentic chain-of-title
  - Suits by unregistered collection agencies

### Path 5: Reciprocal contract — ORS 20.096

When the original cardholder agreement contains a fee clause
favoring the lender:

- ORS 20.096 makes it reciprocal
- Defendant (consumer) recovers under the clause as
  prevailing party
- Applies even when defendant is pro se for some purposes

### Path 6: Statutory prevailing-party fee — ORS 20.190

**Mandatory** flat fee for prevailing party:

- $200–$590 depending on case type and amount in
  controversy
- In addition to other fee recoveries
- A flat fee, not lodestar

### Path 7: ORCP 68 mandatory cost recovery

Costs (not fees) under ORS 20.180 and ORCP 68:

- Filing fees
- Reporter fees
- Witness fees
- Deposition transcript costs
- Cost bill filed within 14 days of judgment

## Plaintiff's fee paths

Plaintiff may seek fees against defendant under:

### Original cardholder agreement

Most cardholder agreements have a fee clause. ORS 20.096
makes it reciprocal — both directions. Plaintiff debt buyers
must prove the agreement to invoke the fee clause.

If plaintiff cannot authenticate the cardholder agreement,
they cannot claim contract-based fees.

### ORS 20.075 statutory factors

Statutory fee statutes (UTPA, FDCPA) apply only when
plaintiff wins. Debt-defense plaintiffs rarely have fee
recovery against consumer defendants under federal or state
consumer-protection statutes.

### Common-law / equitable

Generally unavailable. The American Rule (ORS no
common-law fee-shifting — *Domingo v. Anderson*, 325 Or 385
(1997)) controls.

## Pro se fee limitations

A pro se defendant **cannot recover attorney fees** for their
own time. However, pro se filer CAN recover:

- **Costs** (ORS 20.180, ORCP 68)
- **Statutory prevailing-party fee** (ORS 20.190, $200–$590)
- **Statutory minimums** under UTPA ($200), ORS 697 ($200)
- **Fees if counsel is later retained** (for the period after
  retention)

This parallels federal law (*Kay v. Ehrler*, 499 US 432
(1991)) and most state-law analogs.

## Lodestar calculation

When counsel is retained and fees are awarded:

- Hours reasonably expended × reasonable hourly rate
- Adjusted by ORS 20.075 factors
- Block-billing supports reduction
- Excessive hours support reduction
- Travel time generally not recoverable
- Paralegal time often included

### ORS 20.075 factors

When determining reasonableness:

- Conduct of the parties in the transaction giving rise to
  the action
- Objective reasonableness of claims and defenses
- Extent to which an award would deter conduct
- Objective reasonableness of settlement conduct
- Amount recovered relative to amount sought
- Novelty and difficulty
- Skill required
- Whether case precluded other employment
- Customary fee in the locality
- Fixed or contingent fee nature
- Time limitations
- Amount involved and results obtained
- Experience, reputation, and ability of attorneys
- Undesirability of the case
- Length of professional relationship
- Awards in similar cases

## ORCP 68 C(2) procedure

The procedural mechanism for any fee claim:

1. **Within 14 days of judgment**: file Statement of Attorney
   Fees and Costs
2. **Statement includes**:
   - Total fees and costs claimed
   - Hourly rates and qualifications of attorneys
   - Itemized time entries (date, attorney, task, time,
     amount)
   - Cost itemization
3. **Opposing has 14 days** to object
4. **Court resolves** on the papers or at a hearing
5. **Findings** on each factor required

Missing the 14-day deadline is **waiver** of the fee claim.
Calendar immediately upon judgment.

## Counterclaim fees vs. defense fees

When a debt-defense case results in:

- **Dismissal of plaintiff's claim**: defendant is prevailing
  party on the complaint; fee recovery via the underlying
  statute (FDCPA, UTPA, ORS 697 if pleaded as a basis for
  the defense)
- **Judgment for defendant on counterclaim**: defendant is
  prevailing party on the counterclaim; fees under the
  counterclaim statute
- **Both** (defendant wins complaint AND counterclaim): fee
  recovery on both, often calculated separately or together

When the case is dismissed without prejudice (plaintiff
voluntarily dismisses to avoid losing), ORCP 54 A may permit
defendant to seek fees as a condition of dismissal. Argue:

- Plaintiff is the "withdrawing" party; defendant's effort to
  defend supports fee recovery
- ORCP 54 A allows the court to impose conditions

## Sample fee claim section in motion

```
VII. RELIEF REQUESTED

Defendant respectfully asks the Court to enter an order:

A.  ...

B.  Awarding Defendant reasonable attorney fees and costs
    incurred in defending this action and pursuing the
    counterclaims, under:

      (i)  15 USC § 1692k(a)(3) (FDCPA);
      (ii) ORS 646.638(3) (Oregon UTPA);
      (iii) ORS 697.085 (Oregon Collection Agency
            Registration Act);
      (iv) ORS 20.105 (objectively unreasonable position);
      (v)  ORS 20.096 (reciprocal contract fee);
      (vi) ORS 20.190 (statutory prevailing-party fee).

    Defendant will submit a detailed Statement of Attorney
    Fees and Costs under ORCP 68 C(2) within 14 days of any
    Order granting fees.

C.  ...
```

## Defending against plaintiff's fee claim

When plaintiff files a Statement of Attorney Fees under ORCP
68 C(2):

- File **objections within 14 days** (ORCP 68 C(3))
- Object on lodestar grounds (excessive hours, unreasonable
  rate)
- Object on ORS 20.075 factor grounds
- Object on procedural grounds (statement filed late;
  inadequate detail)
- Object on substantive grounds (plaintiff did not actually
  prevail; the fee statute relied upon does not apply)

## Pro se fee-defense practice

For pro se litigants:

- **No fees for their own time** is the central limitation
- **Statutory minimum** under UTPA ($200), ORS 697 ($200) is
  recoverable
- **ORS 20.190** flat fee ($200–$590) is recoverable
- **Costs** (filing fees, postage, mileage) are recoverable
  under ORCP 68

A pro se defendant who prevails on a UTPA counterclaim
recovers at minimum:

- $200 UTPA statutory damages
- Costs (filing fee, postage, etc.)
- $200 ORS 20.190 prevailing-party fee
- = approximately $400–$600 plus actual damages

If the case is significant enough, retaining counsel partway
through enables fee recovery for the represented portion. The
math: a $7,500 underlying debt with $5,000 in counsel fees
recoverable usually beats a pro se outcome.

## Cross-references

- `or-consumer-debt` SKILL — main bundle
- `or-law-references/references/fees-and-costs.md` —
  general fee framework
- `references/utpa.md` — UTPA fee detail
- `references/fdcpa.md` — FDCPA fee detail
- `references/ors-697.md` — ORS 697 fee detail
- `or-law-references/references/key-cases.md` — Strawn,
  Mattiza, Lemargie, Domingo