Guides
General information about Utah law. Not legal advice.
Claiming fees after a win
The deadline, the contents, and the limit the Utah Supreme Court set on what an award can cover.
A fee award is mandatory for a party that prevails on a UPEPA special motion. The procedure for claiming it lives in Rule 73. Below is what that rule requires.
No later than 14 days after judgment is entered
Utah R. Civ. P. 73(a)What the motion must specify
The statute, rule, or other basis for the award. The amount claimed, and any amount previously awarded. The factors showing the fee is reasonable. Where the court orders it, the terms of the fee agreement. And, where applicable, disclosure of any assignee or debt collector.
Utah R. Civ. P. 73(b)What the supporting affidavit must show
A reasonable description of the time spent and the work performed, giving the name, position, and hourly rate for each person who did the work, and establishing that the claimed fee is reasonable.
Utah R. Civ. P. 73(c)The court may split liability from amount
Rule 73(d) permits the court to decide whether fees are owed before receiving submissions on how much. If it does, the prevailing party files an affidavit and a proposed order, and another party may object within seven days.
Utah R. Civ. P. 73(d)What the award can cover
Section 110 reaches court costs, reasonable attorney fees, and reasonable litigation expenses related to the motion.
In Aston the Utah Supreme Court held on first impression that this means only work reasonably necessary to prosecute the special motion, not the entire litigation. A district court award of roughly $394,000 covering essentially all work in the case was reversed.
The practical consequence is a billing question rather than a briefing one. Time entries that do not separate work on the motion from work on the case generally invite those cuts. A Utah district court reached the same conclusion eight months before Aston, granting just $65,450.25 of a $272,000 fee request. It reasoned that the work was in the prosecution of a single motion.
The other direction
A responding party can recover fees, but only in a narrow case: it has to win the motion and the court has to find the motion was frivolous or filed only to slow the case down. A movant who loses a motion brought in good faith does not pay the other side’s fees.
§ 78B-25-110