Title: Pegan v. Crawmer

State: ohio

Issuer: Ohio Supreme Court

Document:

Pegan, Appellant, v. Crawmer, Appellee. 
[Cite as Pegan v. Crawmer (1997),   Ohio St.3d     .] 
Civil procedure -- Attorney fees not available as costs absent statutory 
authority or frivolous conduct on the part of the nonprevailing party. 
 
(No. 96-2852 -- Submitted May 6, 1997 -- Decided June 25, 1997.) 
 
APPEAL from the Court of Appeals for Licking County, No. 94-CA-106. 
 
In October 1994, appellant, Stella M. Pegan, filed a complaint in the Court 
of Appeals for Licking County for a writ of habeas corpus to restore custody of 
her daughter, Candi, to her from appellee, Ronald L. Crawmer, Candi’s biological 
father.  The court of appeals initially dismissed Pegan’s complaint because she 
failed to certify that a copy of it had been served on Crawmer.  On appeal, we 
reversed and remanded the cause to the court of appeals to determine if the writ 
should be allowed and a return ordered.  Pegan v. Crawmer (1995), 73 Ohio St.3d 
607, 653 N.E.2d 659. 
 
On remand, the court of appeals allowed the writ.  After Crawmer filed a 
trial brief and exhibits, the court of appeals denied the writ.  We affirmed the court 
of appeals’ denial of the writ.  Pegan v. Crawmer (1996), 76 Ohio St.3d 97, 666 
N.E.2d 1091.  We also ordered that Crawmer recover from Pegan “his costs herein 
 
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expended.”  We later issued a mandate ordering the court of appeals to execute the 
judgment.   
 
Crawmer filed a motion in the court of appeals “for a determination of costs 
to be awarded to [Crawmer], including attorney fees and court costs, pursuant to 
the mandate of the Ohio Supreme Court ***.”  Crawmer then submitted an 
affidavit of his attorney and an itemized statement of “costs,” detailing the 
attorney fees expended in the habeas corpus action.  The court of appeals granted 
Crawmer’s motion for costs pursuant to our mandate and ordered Pegan to pay 
him $1,059.25 in attorney fees as costs.   
 
The cause is now before this court upon an appeal as of right. 
____________________ 
 
Central Ohio Legal Aid Society, Inc. and Patricia L. Moore, for appellant. 
 
Cindy Ripko, for appellee. 
____________________ 
 
Per Curiam.  Pegan asserts in her sole proposition of law that attorney fees 
are not available as costs absent statutory authority or frivolous conduct on the 
part of the nonprevailing party.  For the reasons that follow, we sustain Pegan’s 
proposition and reverse the judgment of the court of appeals. 
 
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First, in the absence of statutory authorization or a finding of conduct that 
amounts to bad faith, a prevailing party may not recover attorney fees.  State ex 
rel. Pennington v. Gundler (1996), 75 Ohio St.3d 171, 173, 661 N.E.2d 1049, 
1051; Vance v. Roedersheimer (1992), 64 Ohio St.3d 552, 556, 597 N.E.2d 153, 
156.  No statute authorizes attorney fees here, and neither this court nor the court 
of appeals determined that Pegan had acted in bad faith in instituting the habeas 
corpus action or her appeals. 
 
Second, the reference to costs in our previous judgment entry referred only 
to the docket fee, not attorney fees.  State ex rel. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. v. 
Cleveland (1996), 76 Ohio St.3d 1218, 667 N.E.2d 1232; S.Ct.Prac.R. XV(1); see, 
also, Muze v. Mayfield (1991), 61 Ohio St.3d 173, 174-175, 573 N.E.2d 1078, 
1079 (Unless specified by statute, “costs” do not include attorney fees.). 
 
Based on the foregoing, the judgment of the court of appeals is reversed. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Judgment reversed. 
 
MOYER, C.J., RESNICK, F.E. SWEENEY, PFEIFER, COOK and LUNDBERG 
STRATTON, JJ., concur. 
 
DOUGLAS, J., concurs in judgment only.