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QUESTION PRESENTED
On remand from this Court, the Arkansas Supreme
Court issued an opinion reversing the trial court’s judgment and remanding for entry of judgment consistent
with this Court’s opinion in Pavan v. Smith, 137 S. Ct.
2075 (2017). Despite arguing throughout the pendency
of the case that the trial court was the proper court to
consider any request for attorney’s fees, Petitioners subsequently moved for appellate attorney’s fees in the Arkansas Supreme Court. That motion was denied in an
unreasoned order, as is the usual practice of that court.
The trial court later noted that “[t]he actions of [Petitioners’] counsel indicate that she is totally unfamiliar
with the Rules of Civil Procedure and the Rules of Appellate Procedure relating to procedural matters involving
the award of attorney’s fees.” “It facially appears that the
[Petitioners’] request at the appellate level was denied
because it was procedurally improper, that all of the requested fees and costs should have been submitted to
this court for a factual determination, and that . . . the
[Petitioners] have forfeited their ability to request the
award of any additional fees or costs by not properly and
timely submitting them to this court for adjudication.”
This Court will not review a decision of a state
court if the decision of that court rests on a state law
ground independent of any federal question, whether
that state law ground is substantive or procedural. See
Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S. 722, 729 (1991).
The question presented is:
Where the Petitioners’ request for appellate attorney’s fees was procedurally defaulted on state law