FEE SHIFTING STATUTES
The New Jersey Legislature has recognized that there are certain types of claims that allow Courts to shift the lawyers’ fees to the losing party. The reasoning behind these statutes is to promote the enforcement of these laws that would otherwise not be enforced.
There are many scenarios that would preclude cases being pursued because of attorneys’ fees. For example, someone who is wrongfully terminated but has limited damages because they have found another job would probably not bring a case because of the value of their case. No attorney is going to take a case that has a value of a couple of thousand dollars. However, because of the fee shifting component of the Law Against Discrimination (LAD), an attorney may very well take the case because if he wins for his client, the violator would end up paying his fee. The rationale is to root out all discrimination no matter how small or inconsequential as far as money damages are concerned. There are other similar statutes such as the Consumer Fraud Act that also has a fee shifting agreement.
