Opinion ID: 1156814
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Did the Court Err in Its Award of $5,000 in Attorney's Fees to Patricia Hartland?

Text: The superior court awarded Patricia $5,000 of attorney's fees and 25% of her costs arising from the divorce action. Patricia incurred $19,000 in actual fees. The court also awarded Patricia $1,100 resulting from her motion to enforce the judgment. Jay argues that the court erred in awarding any fees to Patricia. Patricia argues that the court erred in not awarding her all, or substantially all, of her attorney's fees. The prevailing party rule used for determining attorney's fee awards under Rule 82 does not apply to fee awards in divorces. Burrell v. Burrell, 537 P.2d 1 (Alaska 1975). The relevant considerations are the relative economic situation and earning power of each party. Id. at 7. Normally, where both parties have adequate income and are in comparable economic situations, each side should bear their own costs in the divorce action. See Rhodes v. Rhodes, 754 P.2d 1333, 1335-36 (Alaska 1988); Jones v. Jones, 666 P.2d 1031, 1035 (Alaska 1983). In this case, however, the court specifically found that Jay had engaged in unwarranted delay and had imposed unnecessary costs in the course of the action. Therefore, we conclude that it was not an abuse of discretion to award Patricia $5,000 attorney's fees and 25% of her costs. See Horton v. Hansen, 722 P.2d 211 (Alaska 1986). The award of $1,100 raises a different issue since it arises out of fees generated in enforcing the judgment and not from the divorce action itself. L.L.M. v. P.M., 754 P.2d 262, 264 (Alaska 1988). In L.L.M., we noted that the divorce judgment exception to Civil Rule 82 does not extend to post-judgment modifications and enforcement motions. Id. The trial court awarded Patricia twenty hours of attorney's fees at $55.00 an hour for a total of $1,100 for her efforts to enforce the divorce decree. Such an award does not constitute an abuse of discretion under Rule 82. In conclusion, we affirm the $5,000 award of fees in the divorce action and the $1,100 award of fees for the enforcement of the decree.