§ 25-1804.Award of fees and expenses against state; conditions; application.

Winning against the state does not automatically put money in a party’s pocket under these sections — the party has to ask, and ask correctly. Section 25-1804 requires the party seeking fees and other expenses to submit an application to the court no later than thirty days after entry of the final judgment. That application must show eligibility for the award and specify what is sought, and if the request includes an attorney’s fee or an expert witness fee, it must include an itemized statement showing the actual time each person spent on the case and the rate used to compute the fee.

Eligibility is also limited. Only three categories of prevailing parties can collect: natural persons; political subdivisions; and a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, association, or public or private organization that had an average daily employment of fifty people or fewer during the twelve months before the action was filed, and whose gross receipts for that same twelve-month period, or whose average gross receipts over the three years before an Administrative Procedure Act appeal, did not exceed two million dollars. Larger businesses fall outside the section entirely, regardless of how justified their claim to fees might otherwise be.