Opinion ID: 2607869
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Award of Attorney's Fee

Text: The district court exceeded the mandate by awarding attorney's fees to Stanley for services performed by his attorney in obtaining the writ of prohibition. [D]istrict courts have only such jurisdiction on remand as the opinion and mandate of an appellate court specifies   . It is well settled that the duty of the lower court on remand is to comply with the mandate of the appellate court, and to obey the directions therein without variation, even though the mandate may be erroneous. Vinton Eppsco Inc. of Albuquerque v. Showe Homes, Inc., 97 N.M. 225, 226, 638 P.2d 1070, 1071 (1981). (Citations omitted.) In this matter, we remanded for an evidentiary hearing on specific questions. Whereas it was implicitly intended that the trial court take action of some sort upon the facts adduced at the hearing ordered, we said nothing in our mandate about awarding attorney's fees. In the absence of an authorizing statute or rule of court, or the applicability of an exception as discussed in Aboud v. Adams, 84 N.M. 683, 507 P.2d 430 (1973), attorney's fees are not recoverable. Southern Union Exploration Company v. Wynn Exploration Company, Inc., 95 N.M. 594, 624 P.2d 536 (Ct.App. 1981). NMSA 1978, Civ.P.Rule 27(B) (Repl. Pamp. 1984), provides, however, that appellate courts may award attorney's fees where permitted by law or may award such other costs as, in its judgment, may be deemed proper. Through oversight, we neglected to award an attorney's fees when we issued our writ in Cause No. 14,511. We are satisfied that Stanley Thevenet's counsel proved at the December 13, 1982, hearing in the trial court that he had earned an attorney's fee for his successful services in the prohibition proceeding. It cannot be questioned that, upon the Court's own motion or upon motion of any of the parties, the Court may recall its mandate to correct or clarify a matter inadvertently overlooked. Southwestern Inv. Corp. v. City of Los Angeles, 38 Cal.2d 623, 241 P.2d 985 (1952); cf. Weeks v. Lister, 62 N.J. Eq. 813, 53 A. 1125 (1901). We do so now on our own motion; and upon the record made in the trial court on the matter of Thevenet's attorney's fees for services in this Court, we modify the mandate in Cause No. 14,511 to grant such attorney's fees to Thevenet's counsel in the amount of $1500.00, plus costs of $68.60.