Attorney’s Fees Keep It Going
August 24, 2012Inwood on the Park Apartments brought a forcible detainer action to get tenant, Stephanie Morris, to vacate her apartment. According to Inwood, Morris breached her lease by permitting a guest to create “disturbances” in the apartment parking lot, which included disturbances involving public indecency. After the suit was filed, Morris vacated the apartment, and Inwood filed a notice of nonsuit as to “possession” but reserved its claim for attorney’s fees.
Morris moved to dismiss the claim for attorney’s fees, arguing that Inwood’s nonsuit of its claim for forcible detainer mooted any claim for attorney’s fees. Rejecting Morris’ argument, the Court of Appeals held that a “dispute over attorney’s fees is a live controversy and may prevent an appeal from being moot.”
