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Hart v. Impey
Citations: 382 S.W.3d 918; 2012 Mo. App. LEXIS 1390; 2012 WL 5360957Docket: No. SD 31633
Court: Missouri Court of Appeals; November 1, 2012; Missouri; State Appellate Court
The trial court lacked authority to award attorney's fees to plaintiffs after they voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit without prejudice, rendering the judgment invalid and necessitating its vacation. The underlying case involved a dispute related to a school bond issue in Houston, Missouri, where the Houston R-1 School District contracted L.J. Hart Company for municipal bond underwriting services. John Impey, a school board candidate, opposed the project and made statements suggesting Hart improperly influenced the School District. In response, Hart and L.J. Hart filed a defamation and tortious interference lawsuit against Impey. Impey sought to dismiss the lawsuit, which the trial court denied. Following the failure of the bond issue and Impey's election loss, plaintiffs sought attorney's fees under statute 537.528.2, which allows for such awards if a special motion to dismiss is deemed frivolous. The trial court granted this request, but issues arose when plaintiffs later dismissed their claims. The February 2012 judgment awarding fees was appealed by Impey, who contended that the dismissal was not frivolous, but the court ruled it could not address these merits due to the lack of authority in the initial fee award. The case was remanded for the trial court to vacate the judgment and subsequent orders following the plaintiffs' dismissal. An appellate court must assess its authority to review an appeal, particularly when the underlying judgment may lack validity. In this case, the Order in question was deemed interlocutory, addressing only the Plaintiffs' entitlement to attorney's fees and litigation costs under statute 537.528.2, thus not resolving the entire dispute. The trial court retained the discretion to modify or vacate this interlocutory Order prior to a final judgment. Plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed all claims against Impey without prejudice in September 2011, effectively nullifying the action and treating the Order as if it never existed. Consequently, the trial court lacked jurisdiction to issue a judgment in February 2012. Although the appellate court cannot evaluate the merits of Impey’s appeal, it maintains jurisdiction to determine the validity of the judgment. The court remands the case with instructions to vacate the February 2012 judgment and any subsequent orders post-dismissal. Additionally, motions for damages due to a frivolous appeal and for sanctions were denied. The court clarified that the trial court may still issue administrative orders regarding cost assessments after a dismissal, while distinguishing the current case from a California precedent regarding attorney’s fees, emphasizing that Missouri law treats such awards as interlocutory and not appealable.