Rule 74.16.Attorney Fees.

Attorney fees in Missouri civil cases usually have to be requested through a dedicated motion, not folded into the underlying case, and Rule 74.16 spells out exactly how that motion must work. The default rule is that a claim for attorney fees and related nontaxable expenses must be made by a motion filed under this rule — unless the substantive law governing the claim requires those fees to be proved at trial as an element of damages, in which case the ordinary trial process handles it instead.

When a motion is required, the clock is tight: it must be filed no later than thirty days after the entry of judgment on the underlying claim. The motion itself has to do real work, not just ask for fees in general terms — it must identify the statute, rule, or other legal ground entitling the movant to fees, and it must state the specific amount sought.

The rule also settles a procedural question that could otherwise create confusion: except for purposes of Rule 51.05(a), a motion under this rule is treated as an independent action, not as an authorized after-trial motion under Rules 78.04, 78.06, or 81.05. That distinction affects how the motion interacts with appeal deadlines and other post-judgment procedures.