---
title: O.C.G.A. § 9-15-16. Limitations on recovery of attorney fees, court costs, or expenses of litigation; utilization of contingent fee agreements.
collection: code
id: 9-15-16
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 9-15-16 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/9-15-16
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/9-15-16.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/9-15-16/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t9-ch12-17-(v7a)-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=201e3996_0#page=52
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: CIVIL PRACTICE / COURT AND LITIGATION COSTS
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---

# O.C.G.A. § 9-15-16. Limitations on recovery of attorney fees, court costs, or expenses of litigation; utilization of contingent fee agreements.

(a) In any civil action, no party shall recover the same attorney’s fees, court costs, or expenses of litigation more than once pursuant to one or more statutes authorizing awards of attorney’s fees, court costs, or expenses of litigation, whether such statute or statutes authorize such awards for compensatory or punitive purposes, unless the statute or statutes specifically authorize the recovery of duplicate attorney’s fees, court costs, or expenses of litigation.

(b) In any civil action, if a party seeks to recover attorney’s fees pursuant to any statute authorizing an award of reasonable attorney’s fees, a contingent fee agreement between such party and such party’s attorney shall not be admissible as proof of the reasonableness of the fees.

(c) Nothing in this Code section shall limit or diminish any contractual right to recover attorney’s fees, court costs, or expenses of litigation.

## History

Code 1981, § 9-15-16, enacted by Ga. L. 2025, p. 19, § 4/SB 68, effective April 21, 2025.

## Cross References

Fees, Ga. R. & Regs. St. Bar 1.5.

## Effective Date

This Code section became effective April 21, 2025.