2
the procedural rules governing attorney’s fee requests
in Arkansas courts. The trial court explained that the
Arkansas Supreme Court’s denial of Petitioners’ motion for appellate fees stemmed from the fact that Petitioners filed their fee motion in the wrong court, and
by that point, well outside the time period for filing it
in the proper court. Instead of owning up to their mistakes and accepting the over $70,000 the trial court
awarded in fees, Petitioners sought to cover up their
mistakes by filing a motion asking the trial court to
modify its opinion to omit its discussion of Petitioners’
procedural default of their ability to seek appellate attorney’s fees. Shortly after the trial court denied that
motion, Petitioners filed their petition with this Court.
Petitioners now seek review of the Arkansas Supreme Court’s order denying their motion for appellate
fees, despite the fact that the order gives no indication
it rested on federal grounds, rather than Petitioners’
state law procedural default. The Arkansas Supreme
Court’s denial of Petitioners’ procedurally defaulted attorney’s fee request presents no federal question for
this Court to review, and accordingly, the Petition
should be denied.
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STATEMENT
1. Proceedings in the Trial Court. This Court is
familiar with the underlying state court litigation,
which is discussed in the Court’s prior decision in
Pavan v. Smith, 137 S. Ct. 2075 (2017) (per curiam).