Court rejects plea for lawyer fees

Monday, June 30, 2003 | 9:34 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A person who represents himself in a civil case in justice court and wins is not entitled to collect attorney fees, even if he is a lawyer, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled Friday.

The court overturned Elko District Judge Michael Memeo, who had awarded $1,500 in attorney fees to lawyer Richard Matthews.

Matthews won a judgment in justice court that Dean Sellers, a non-attorney, owed him $5,075 for legal fees. The justice of the peace also ordered Sellers to pay attorney fees to Matthews because he was the winning party. Sellers appealed to the district court and lost and then carried his appeal to the Supreme Court, which ruled in his favor.

The Supreme Court said the Elko court exceeded its authority in awarding attorney fees to Matthews since he had not incurred any obligation to pay a lawyer.

The court noted that different states have different rules as to whether attorney fees should be awarded the prevailing party when that litigant had not hired a lawyer for the case.

The court said it interpreted Nevada law to require a civil case litigant's hiring of a lawyer "as prerequisite for an award of prevailing party attorney fees."

"Because Matthews represented himself and did not pay or incur any obligation to pay attorney fees, the justice court exceeded its jurisdiction by awarding such fees," noted the decision signed by Justices Bob Rose, Bill Maupin and Mark Gibbons.