Opinion ID: 1487255
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Sufficiency of the Findings

Text: Maurice contends that a court imposing the sanction of attorney's fees must make an express finding of either bad faith or lack of substantial justification. Respondents argue that Rule 1-341 does not require such a finding, and in the alternative, they suggest that the Court of Special Appeals could have imposed the sanction pursuant to the penalty provisions of Rule 1028 i, which requires no finding of bad faith or lack of substantial justification. We conclude that Maurice has the better of this argument. The Court of Special Appeals has said, and we agree, that [b]efore a court metes Rule 1-341 sanctions, it must make an evidentiary finding of `bad faith' or `lack of substantial justification.' Legal Aid v. Bishop's Garth, 75 Md. App. 214, 220, 540 A.2d 1175 (1988). See also Century I Condo v. Plaza Condo Joint Ven., 64 Md. App. 107, 115-16, 494 A.2d 713 (1985); Colonial Carpets v. Carpet Fair, 36 Md. App. 583, 591-92, 374 A.2d 419 (1977); Hess v. Chalmers, 33 Md. App. 541, 545, 365 A.2d 294 (1976). The justification for this requirement lies not only in the clear language of the rule, but also in the logic that before such an extraordinary sanction is imposed there should be evidence that there has been a clear focus upon the criteria justifying it and a specific finding that these criteria have been met. Moreover, some brief exposition of the facts upon which the finding is based and an articulation of the particular finding involved are necessary for subsequent review. In view of the fact that appellate courts may, and do, impose original sanctions pursuant to this rule, we conclude that the requirements for specific findings apply to us as well as to the trial courts. In the instant case, although respondents requested an award of attorney's fees pursuant to Rule 1-341 as a part of their motion to dismiss the appeal, they did not allege bad faith on the part of Maurice or his attorney. The Court of Special Appeals made no finding of bad faith. That court obviously agreed with respondents that Maurice had failed to satisfy the requirements of Rule 1028. Rather than dismiss the appeal outright, however, the court directed Maurice to cure the deficiency within a prescribed period of time. With respect to the award of attorney's fees, the court simply ordered Maurice's attorney to pay a specified sum to respondents' attorney, [3] in connection with appellees' motion to dismiss. Respondents argue before us that Maurice or his attorney intentionally declined to print the proceedings of October 6 in an effort to mislead the Court of Special Appeals and to bolster the argument that Judge McKenna had not made the required finding of bad faith. If the Court of Special Appeals found that to be true, there would certainly be justification for the imposition of a sanction pursuant to Rule 1-341. It is noteworthy, however, that no such suggestion was before the intermediate appellate court when it ruled on the motion. Moreover, it would appear that if the court had reached that conclusion, it might well have dismissed the appeal rather than simply order the deficiency remedied. See Bornstein v. State Tax Comm., 227 Md. 331, 335-37, 176 A.2d 859 (1962) (intentional omissions from the record extract, intended to mislead, warrant dismissal of appeal); Kemp-Pontiac-Cadillac v. S & M Constr., 33 Md. App. 516, 525, 365 A.2d 1021 (1976) (same). If the intermediate appellate court awarded the attorney's fees because it felt the remedy was appropriate as a sanction for the negligence or carelessness of Maurice's attorney, it was in error. As frustrating as it may be to courts and litigants at all levels to become involved in extra effort because an attorney or a party misreads a rule, or overlooks a requirement, or is otherwise negligent, careless, or perhaps inept, the bad faith component of Rule 1-341 does not permit the award of attorney's fees as a sanction for such conduct. It is an extraordinary remedy, intended to reach only intentional misconduct. The requisite intent, although sometimes difficult to prove, and more often than not provable only by inference from the surrounding circumstances, must nonetheless be proved. In the instant case, we cannot determine the basis upon which the Court of Special Appeals awarded the attorney's fees. Accordingly, we must vacate that award, and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with the views we have expressed. In so doing, we reject respondents' suggestion that the Court of Special Appeals may have awarded attorney's fees as a proper exercise of that court's discretion pursuant to former Rule 1028 i 2. That rule provided that upon a finding that an appellant had failed to file parts of the record reasonably necessary for a determination of questions presented by the appeal, the court could require that additional portions of the record be printed or otherwise furnished, or it may dismiss the appeal, or make any other appropriate order with respect to the case. Respondents argue that the award of attorney's fees falls within the authority of the court to make any other appropriate order. We do not agree. The power to award attorney's fees, being contrary to the established practice in this country, may be expressly conferred but will not be presumed from general language. See Roadway Exp., Inc. v. Piper, supra, 447 U.S. at 759-63, 100 S.Ct. at 2460-62. The Court of Special Appeals was correct in Blanton v. Equitable Bank, Nat'l Ass'n, supra, 61 Md. App. at 161, 485 A.2d 694, and in Singer v. Steven Kokes, Inc., 39 Md. App. 180, 187, 384 A.2d 463 (1978), in holding that prior to the adoption of Rule 1-341 there was no authority in the rules for an award of attorney's fees at the appellate level. THAT PORTION OF THE 9 FEBRUARY 1988 ORDER OF THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS ORDERING PAYMENT OF ATTORNEY'S FEES IS VACATED, AND CASE REMANDED TO THAT COURT FOR FURTHER PROCEEDINGS NOT INCONSISTENT WITH THIS OPINION. COSTS IN THIS COURT TO ABIDE THE RESULT.