§ 118.004.Court Costs and Attorney's Fees

A fee provision, and it runs both ways.

The statute says "a party who prevails," not a claimant. A school that defeats the claim is a prevailing party under the same words.

Two items are recoverable: court costs, and reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees.

"Entitled to" is mandatory language. A prevailing party recovers these items as a matter of right, subject to proving the fees reasonable and necessary.

Fee shifting is what makes a capped claim viable. A case requiring proof of gross negligence in hiring and supervision is expensive, and a $500,000 ceiling would not fund it on a contingency alone.

The two-way form is the ordinary Texas pattern in this kind of statute, and it puts weight on both sides when a case is evaluated.

Fees are outside the damages cap. Section 118.003 limits actual damages, and this section provides for costs and fees separately.

Fees have to be proved. Reasonable and necessary is an evidentiary standard, met with records of the work and testimony about the rates.

The two-way form cuts both ways for a claimant. A case that fails can leave the claimant answering for the school’s fees, which is part of evaluating one before filing.