* Suits against the federal government where the position of the government was not "substantially justified"
In addition, courts will allow the prevailing party to recover attorney's fees in an action on a contract where the contract contains a provision allowing recovery.
There are many ways of calculating prevailing-party attorney's fees. Most courts recognize that actual costs may be disproportionate and inequitable. Thus, many [[jurisdiction]]s rely on other calculations. Many courts or laws invoke a ''lodestar''' calculation: reasonably expected billable hours multiplied by a reasonable hourly rate, sometimes multiplied by a factor reflecting the risk or complexity of the case. Courts in class actions frequently award fees proportionate to the damages recovered. The [[Class Action Fairness Act of 2005]], which, among other provisions, regulates the fees that can be awarded in a class action, was passed in response to concerns that courts were not adequately overseeing the award of such fees.
Some [[statute]]s permit awards of attorney's fees to prevailing defendants in extraordinary circumstances, such as proving that the litigation was [[frivolous lawsuit|frivolous]], in the sense of it being objectively baseless and in brought in bad faith.
