Opinion ID: 2641038
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: we decline to award attorney fees

Text: ¶61 The final issue we must address is whether Petitioners are entitled to an award of their attorney fees incurred in connection with their petition for extraordinary writ. Petitioners submit they are entitled to recover their attorney fees because they have been wrongfully enjoined. ¶62 In support of their request for fees, Petitioners cite to rule 65A(c)(2) of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure. But the language of rule 65A does not support their request. Rule 65A speaks of costs and fees “incurred in connection with [a] restraining order or preliminary injunction,” not a permanent injunction like the one at issue here. UTAH R. CIV. P. 65A(c)(2) (emphasis added).2 And even 2 See Hay v. Baumgartner, 903 N.E.2d 1044, 1048 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009) (interpreting a parallel rule and explaining that the requirement of security and prescription for award of costs and damages for wrongful entry of injunction “arise[] from the expeditious manner in which the preliminary injunctive relief is issued and to the lack of a full hearing upon the facts”—considerations that “do (continued...) 17 WEBER CO. v. OGDEN TRECE Opinion of the Court in the case of a preliminary injunction, the language does not appear to give rise to an independent right to recover fees. Rather, it simply indicates that the amount of the security given by the party seeking an injunction does not limit the amount of attorney fees that may be recovered in the event that an injunction is wrongfully entered. UTAH R. CIV. P. 65A(c)(2).3 ¶63 Petitioners also cite to Green River Canal Company v. Thayn, 2003 UT 50, 84 P.3d 1134. However, like rule 65A, Thayn involved a temporary restraining order that was later dissolved after an evidentiary hearing on the preliminary injunction motion—not a permanent injunction. Id. ¶ 13. Thus, the authority invoked by Petitioners is focused on the wrongful entry of a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction, rather than the wrongful entry of a permanent injunction. Petitioners have failed to articulate any argument or cite to any authority supporting their entitlement to an award of attorney fees when a permanent injunction is vacated. We accordingly deny their request for fees.