Opinion ID: 4587038
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Jurisdiction to Adjudicate Application for Attorney Fees

Text: ¶6 This Court has a duty to inquire into its own jurisdiction and the jurisdiction of the lower court. See Hall v. GEO Group, Inc. , 2014 OK 22, ¶ 12, 324 P.3d 399. As an initial matter, we find the trial court had jurisdiction to adjudicate Coffey's application for attorney fees despite its lack of subject matter jurisdiction over the merits of the case. It follows that this Court has jurisdiction to review the trial court's order denying attorney fees. ¶7 Comanche Nation did not appeal from the underlying order sustaining Coffey's dispositive motion and dismissing the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and that stands as the law of the case. The trial court had the inherent authority and duty to adjudicate whether it had jurisdiction over the matter before it. See Dutton v. City of Midwest City , 2015 OK 51, ¶ 15, 353 P.3d 532. Because the trial court had jurisdiction to determine it lacked subject matter jurisdiction and to enter an order dismissing the case, it also had jurisdiction to rule on Coffey's request for prevailing party attorney fees. The trial court's order denying attorney fees was ancillary to the underlying dismissal. Even if the trial court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the merits of the case, it retains jurisdiction to adjudicate an application for attorney fees and costs. See Brown v. Desert Christian Ctr. , 122 Cal. Rptr. 3d 590, 594-596 (Cal. Ct. App. 2011) (costs incidental to judgment of dismissal); New v. Dumitrache , 604 S.W.3d 1, 20 (Tenn. 2020) (attorney fees incurred in determining the trial court lacked jurisdiction); see also In re De-Annexation of Certain Real Property from the City of Seminole , 2007 OK 95, ¶¶ 18-22, 177 P.3d 551 (reviewing the correctness of the trial court's order denying attorney fees after holding the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the merits of the case). ¶8 Applications for attorney fees and costs are routinely filed after a case has been dismissed. The parties have 30 days after the filing of the judgment, decree, or appealable order to file an application for attorney fees and costs. See 12 O.S.Supp.2012 § 696.4(B); Haggard v. Haggard , 1998 OK 124, ¶ 13, 975 P.2d 439 (If a party files a motion for new trial following the entry of a judgment, decree, or appealable order, we interpret § 696.4 to mean that the party will have thirty days after the filing of the order disposing of her motion for new trial within which to file her attorneys' fee application.). The February 15, 2018 order dismissing the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction was an appealable order. Coffey timely filed his application for attorney fees on March 16, 2018. The trial court's prior order dismissing the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction did not inhibit Coffey's right to request attorney fees or the trial court's power to rule on such a request.