§ 125.005.Attorney's Fees and Costs in Action Under Chapter

The fee provision, and it runs to whichever side wins.

In an action brought under this chapter, the court may award a prevailing party reasonable attorney’s fees in addition to costs incurred in bringing the action.

"A prevailing party" — not a prevailing plaintiff. A property owner who defeats an abatement suit may recover fees on the same terms as a plaintiff who wins one.

That symmetry matters given who may sue. A private citizen can bring this action without showing personal injury, and the prospect of paying the defendant’s fees is what discourages using it as a weapon in a neighbourhood dispute.

The award is discretionary — the court may award — so neither side is entitled to fees by winning.

Four factors guide the amount, and the court shall consider each.

The time and labor involved, which is the ordinary starting point.

The novelty and difficulty of the questions — relevant in this chapter, where an online nuisance claim raises federal immunity questions a routine abatement case does not.

The expertise, reputation, and ability of the attorney, which is what justifies a higher rate for the same hours.

Any other factor considered relevant by the court, leaving the list open.

The section reaches the whole chapter, so it applies to a gang injunction suit and to the online declaratory action as well as to an ordinary abatement case.

It is also the exception the online remedy provision names — the one thing recoverable there beyond the judicial finding itself.