(a) Definition; form. “Judgment” as used in these rules includes a decree or order that adjudicates all claims and the rights and liabilities of all parties or any other order from which an appeal of right lies. A judgment should not contain a recital of pleadings, the report of a master, or the record of prior proceedings.
Rule 54.Judgments; costs
Part VII: Judgment · Last amended November 1, 2016 · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceRule 54 defines what counts as a final judgment, explains how a court certifies a partial judgment in a multi-claim or multi-party case, and sets the timeline for claiming costs after a case ends.
Full Text of Rule 54
(b) Judgment upon multiple claims and/or involving multiple parties. When an action presents more than one claim for relief — whether as a claim, counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim — and/or when multiple parties are involved, the court may enter judgment as to one or more but fewer than all of the claims or parties only if the court expressly determines that there is no just reason for delay. Otherwise, any order or other decision, however designated, that adjudicates fewer than all the claims or the rights and liabilities of fewer than all the parties does not end the action as to any of the claims or parties, and may be changed at any time before the entry of judgment adjudicating all the claims and the rights and liabilities of all the parties.
(c) Demand for judgment. A default judgment must not differ in kind from, or exceed in amount, what is demanded in the pleadings. Every other judgment should grant the relief to which each party is entitled, even if the party has not demanded that relief in its pleadings.
(d) Costs.
(1) To whom awarded. Unless a statute, these rules, or a court order provides otherwise, costs should be allowed to the prevailing party. Costs against the state of Utah, its officers and agencies may be imposed only to the extent permitted by law.
(2) How assessed. The party who claims costs must not later than 14 days after the entry of judgment file and serve a verified memorandum of costs. A party dissatisfied with the costs claimed may, within 7 days after service of the memorandum of costs, object to the claimed costs.
(3) Memorandum filed before judgment. A memorandum of costs served and filed after the verdict, or at the time of or subsequent to the service and filing of the findings of fact and conclusions of law, but before the entry of judgment, is deemed served and filed on the date judgment is entered.
(e) Amending the judgment to add costs or attorney fees. If the court awards costs under paragraph (d) or attorney fees under Rule 73 after the judgment is entered, the prevailing party must file and serve an amended judgment including the costs or attorney fees. The court will enter the amended judgment unless another party objects within 7 days after the amended judgment is filed.
Amendment History
Amended effective January 1, 1985; November 1, 2003; November 1, 2011; May 1, 2014; November 1, 2015; November 1, 2016.
Advisory Committee Notes
Advisory Committee Notes
In Butler v. Corporation of The President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 2014 UT 41, the Supreme Court established the requirements of a judgment entered by means of a Rule 54(b) certification:
First, it must be entered in an action involving multiple claims or multiple parties. Second, it must have been entered on an order that would otherwise be appealable but for the fact that other claims or parties remain in the action. . . Third, the trial court, in its discretion, must make a determination that there is no just reason for delay of the appeal. Id. ¶28
To satisfy the second requirement, the Supreme Court in Butler included, in addition to the other requirements of appealability, the principle that the order must include one of the three indicia of finality imposed by former Rule 7(f)(2): a proposed order submitted with the supporting or opposing memorandum; an order prepared at the direction of the judge; an express indication that a further order was not required. The 2015 amendments to Rule 7 replace these indicia with the judge’s signature. The 2015 amendments of Rule 7, Rule 54 and Rule 58A do not disturb the principles established in Butler; they do make simpler the task of satisfying the requirement that the interlocutory order be complete under Rule 7 before it can be certified under Rule 54.
2016 amendments. Paragraph (e) describes the process by which the determination of costs or fees becomes part of the judgment. If there is legal error in entering judgment for costs or attorney fees, that error is reviewable on appeal just like any other.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 54 starts by defining "judgment" broadly — any decree or order that resolves all claims and all parties' rights, or any other order that can be appealed as of right. It should read clean, without reciting the pleadings, a master's report, or the history of prior proceedings.
Cases with multiple claims or multiple parties create a wrinkle: an order that resolves only some of them normally isn't a final, appealable judgment, and the court can revise it anytime before the whole case wraps up. To turn a partial ruling into an immediately appealable judgment, the court has to expressly certify that there's no just reason to delay the appeal — what's often called a Rule 54(b) certification. Outside that certification, a default judgment can't give more than the complaint demanded, though any other judgment can grant whatever relief the party earned, demanded or not.
Costs normally go to the prevailing party unless a statute, rule, or court order says otherwise, and recovering costs against the State of Utah is limited to what the law allows. The party claiming costs has 14 days after judgment to file a verified memorandum, and the other side has 7 days after that to object. If costs are calculated before judgment is entered — say, filed with the findings of fact — that memorandum is treated as filed on the judgment date itself. When a court later awards costs or attorney fees under Rule 73 after the judgment already entered, the prevailing party has to file an amended judgment adding them; that amended judgment stands unless someone objects within 7 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes an order a 'judgment' I can appeal?
Rule 54 defines a judgment as any decree or order that resolves every claim and every party's rights, or any other order the law lets you appeal as of right. An order that leaves some claims or parties unresolved usually isn't final and can be changed anytime before the case ends.
What is a Rule 54(b) certification and when do I need one?
It's the court's express finding that there's no just reason to delay an appeal, made when the court wants a partial ruling — one that resolves only some claims or some parties in a multi-claim or multi-party case — to count as an immediately appealable judgment. Without it, a partial ruling stays open to revision until the whole case is resolved.
Who pays the other side's costs after a case ends?
Costs normally go to the prevailing party, unless a statute, court rule, or order says otherwise. Costs against the State of Utah are limited to what the law specifically allows.
How long do I have to file a memorandum of costs?
14 days after entry of judgment. The other party then has 7 days after being served to object to what you've claimed.
Can a default judgment give the plaintiff more than the complaint asked for?
No. A default judgment can't exceed or differ in kind from what the complaint demanded. Any other kind of judgment, by contrast, can give a party whatever relief it's entitled to, even beyond what it requested in its pleadings.
What happens if the court awards attorney fees after judgment is already entered?
The prevailing party has to file and serve an amended judgment that adds the costs or fees. That amended judgment takes effect unless another party objects within 7 days of it being filed.
Source & verification. Rule text, Advisory Committee Notes, and
amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure,
adopted by the Utah Supreme Court. Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: rule 54(b) certification utahfinal judgment utah civil casememorandum of costs utahprevailing party costs utahutah rule 54urcp 54amending judgment for attorney fees utah