Court Opinion

ID: 9677528
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 05:54:27.754174+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:18:58.480570
License: Public Domain

James V. Spencer, III, Special Justice, concurring. I concur in the decision with one reservation. This appeal has brought squarely before the court the uncertainty to a losing party of a judgment’s finality after the appeal period has expired. In other words, the losing party now remains vulnerable after the appeal period has expired to a motion for an award of attorney’s fee. I concur with the majority opinion not to adopt a rigid rule within the context of this case, but I feel the court should adopt by subsequent order the rule followed by the federal courts requiring the filing of a post judgment motion for an attorney’s fee within fourteen (14) days after entry of final judgment in the underlying action as referenced by the second footnote to the majority opinion. Such a rule would avoid the uncertainty on this issue and eliminate the discretionary rule presently existing in our state courts. Special Justice Donna C. Pettus joins in this concurrence.