On December 27, 2022, Justice Crane of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in Ludwig v. Wilder, 2022 NY Slip Op. 34419(U), denying a prevailing plaintiff an award of attorneys’ fees due to the plaintiff’s failure to document the fees, explaining:
Plaintiff failed to support his claim for $5,000.00 in attorney’s fees. While the Promissory Note does state that if payment is not made under the note, Corporation agrees to pay all costs of collection when incurred, including reasonable attorney’s fees, Plaintiff failed to provide the court with any documentation whatsoever to substantiate that those attorney’s fees were actually incurred. In the absence of any such documentation, the court cannot award those fees to Plaintiff.
(Internal quotations and citations omitted).