Court Lacks Authority to Award Attorneys' Fees

Abstract

The Consolidated Public Water Supply District received an easement in 1967 from the landowners' predecessors and installed its water main within the easement. A year later, the landowners became customers of the district and signed a water user's agreement providing that Missouri laws and the district's regulations were incorporated in the contract. In 1990, the district adopted a new regulation allowing up to 6 ft of fill over water mains (10 ft [3 m] with permission of the board). Later the district discovered that 16 ft of fill covered the main on the landowner's property. The district removed 3 ft of fill and the landowners later refilled the excavation. The district sued the landowner, but the court found the district responsible for the excessive fill and awarded the landowners nearly $2,000 for attorneys' fees. On appeal, the appellate court agreed with the district that the law did not authorize an award of money and removed all references to the award of fees.