Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 139.05

As amended through July 3, 2024

Rule 139.05 - Attorneys' Fees on Appeal - Procedure

Subdivision 1. Request for Fees on Appeal. A party seeking attorneys' fees on appeal shall submit such a request by motion under Rule 127. The court may grant on its own motion an award of reasonable attorneys' fees to any party. All motions for fees must be submitted no later than within the time for taxation of costs, or such other period of time as the court directs. All motions for fees must include sufficient documentation to enable the appellate court to determine the appropriate amount of fees.

Subd. 2. Response. Any response to a motion for fees shall state the grounds for the objections with specificity and shall be filed within 14 days of the date the motion is served, unless the appellate court allows a longer time. On the court's own motion or the request of a party, a request for attorneys' fees may be remanded to the district court for appropriate hearing and determination.

Subd. 3. Applications for Pre-Decision Awards of Fees. Where allowed by law, a pre-decision application for fees, and any response to such an application, may be made by motion as provided by Rule 127.

Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 139.05

Adopted effective 1/1/1999; amended May 30, 2019, effective 9/1/2019; amended effective 1/1/2020.

Advisory Committee Comment - 1998 Amendments
The rule has been amended to provide a procedure for seeking attorneys' fees in the appellate courts. The amendments are procedural only, and do not provide a substantive basis for claiming fees on appeal.
Attorneys' fees on appeal may be allowed as a matter of substantive law or as a sanction. If a party seeks an award of attorneys' fees for work done on the appeal, as opposed to seeking appellate court affirmance of an award made below, the party should seek the award in the appellate court. Johnson v. City of Shorewood, 531 N.W.2d 509, 511 (Minn. App. 1995). The appellate court may choose to remand the issue to the trial court for a determination of the fees, see Richards v. Richards, 472 N.W.2d 162, 166 (Minn. App. 1991); Katz v. Katz, 380 N.W.2d 527, 531 (Minn. App. 1986), aff'd, 408 N.W.2d 835, 840 (Minn. 1987); or may refuse such a suggestion, and make the determination itself. See State Bank v. Ziehwein, 510 N.W.2d 268, 270 (Minn. App. 1994); Norwest Bank Midland v. Shinnick, 402 N.W.2d 818 (Minn. App. 1987).
The request for fees must include sufficient information to enable the appellate court to determine the appropriate amount of fees. This generally will include specific descriptions of the work performed, the number of hours spent on each item of work, the hourly rate charged for that work, and evidence concerning the usual and customary charges for such work, or if the basis for the fees is other than hourly, information by which the court can judge the propriety of the request. Where appropriate, copies of bills submitted to the client, redacted if necessary to preserve privileged information and work-product, may be submitted with the motion.

Advisory Committee Comment - 2020 Amendments

Rule 139 is amended to clarify its operation. The changes include reorganization of Rules 139.03 and 139.04, replacing them with a new Rule 139.03, with four subdivisions. This rule is intended to describe the procedure used for taxation of costs with greater precision and to remove lack of clarity in the current rule.

Where a party prevails in the Supreme Court after not prevailing in the Court of Appeals, Rule 139.03, subd. 2, specifies that the party file separate notices of costs and disbursements that separately identify the costs incurred in each court. This permits the Supreme Court to review the costs incurred in that court and then to allow the Court of Appeals to determine the costs allowed in that court.