Recovering Costs in Court
If you want to recover contingent fees or attorney fees incurred through the process of legal action, you must have a contract signed by your debtor that clearly communicates that the costs of collections will be recoverable. This is a must in the US. But even that may not result in recovered costs.
Fact is, some states consider recovering collection costs against public policy and therefore forbid it. In the states that allow recovering costs, it’s not at all uncommon for the court to award less than the total amount of the costs accrued or the contingent fee.
But before you totally throw in the towel thinking you’ll never get the full amount of recovery costs you’re hoping for, take heart. Filing fees, service of process and other expended court costs are legally recoverable in every state in the US. It’s all added to the final judgment amount.