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277 Ga. 132

587 S.E.2d 22

Evers v. Evers

Supreme Court of Georgia

Decided September 22, 2003

Supreme Court of Georgia · decided 2003-09-22

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“an opportunity to confront and challenge testimony as to the need for, and value of, legal services”

quoted by 1 later decision, including BARBOUR v. SANGHA Et Al.

Relies on Green v. McCart · 230 Ga. App. 405 - C. A. Gaslowitz & Associates, Inc. v. ZML Promenade, L.L.C. · 259 Ga. App. 182 - Bellah v. Peterson

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 2003-09-22

How this case has been cited

Cited by 17 later decisions — most recently March 2024

2 federal appellate · 15 state decisions

100200320102020decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

Thompson, Justice.

¶1 Barbara Evers sued Michael Evers for divorce. When the case settled, Michael moved for attorney fees under OCGA § 9-15-14. Finding improper conduct on both sides, the trial court denied the motion. We granted husband’s application for a discretionary appeal and posed this question: Whether the trial court erred in failing to hold an oral hearing on husband’s motion for attorney fees under OCGA § 9-15-14?

¶2 1. Generally, unless ordered by the court, motions are decided without oral argument. Uniform Superior Court Rule 6.3. Exceptions are made, however, for motions for new trial, motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, and motions for summary judgment. 1 Id.

¶3 A hearing is required in order to enter an award of attorney fees. Green v. McCart, 273 Ga. 862, 863 (1) (548 SE2d 303) (2001). That is because an oral hearing gives the party opposing attorney fees an opportunity to confront and challenge testimony with regard to the need for, and value of, legal services. See Sawyer v. Sawyer, 253 Ga. App. 619, 620 (560 SE2d 86) (2002); C. A. Gaslowitz & Assoc, v. ZML Promenade, 230 Ga. App. 405, 406 (496 SE2d 470) (1998). But this rationale does not apply unless attorney fees are to be awarded. If attorney fees are not to be awarded, a party has no right to oral argument. McKeen v. McKeen, 224 Ga. App. 410, 411 (2) (481 SE2d 236) (1997). It follows that the trial court did not err in failing to have an oral hearing on the motion for attorney fees.

¶4 2. In order to award attorney fees, a trial court must make findings of fact and conclusions of law which are sufficient to support the *133 award. Montag v. Sutherland, 230 Ga. App. 692 (498 SE2d 86) (1998). When the trial court declines to award attorney fees, however, findings of fact and conclusions of law are unnecessary. See Bellah v. Peterson, 259 Ga. App. 182, 183 (2) (576 SE2d 585) (2003).

Decided September 22, 2003. Paul R. Koehler, for appellant. Daniel W. Mitnick, Miles W. Rich, for appellee.

¶5 Judgment affirmed.

All the Justices concur.
1

¶6 Oral argument on a summary judgment motion is only permitted upon written request made in a separate pleading. Uniform Superior Court Rule 6.3.

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