Murray v. Stine, 864 N.W.2d 386

Cotrustees (Murray/Fitl) sued multiple defendants alleging, among other claims, breaches of fiduciary duty; some defendants answered and requested attorney fees under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-824.
Defendants moved for summary judgment; the hearing occurred April 7, 2014; separate motions for attorney fees were filed April 8–9 and set for hearing May 12, 2014.
On April 16, 2014 the district court granted summary judgment to several defendants but the orders were silent on attorney fees.
The cotrustees filed a notice of appeal before the scheduled May 12 hearing; the district court later declined to rule on the pending fee motions, believing it lacked jurisdiction because of the appeal.
Two consolidated appeals followed: one from the summary-judgment orders and one from the district court’s refusal to rule on the fee motions.
The Nebraska Supreme Court concluded the appeals were premature because motions for attorney fees filed before judgment remained undecided, so no final, appealable judgment existed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether silence in the judgment on attorney-fee requests (made in answers) constitutes denial	Murray: silence should be treated as denial so judgment is final and appealable	Defendants: separate, pending fee motions prevent finality	Court: silence in judgment can be construed as denial for requests made only in answers, but not when separate pre-judgment fee motions are pending
Whether separate motions for attorney fees filed and scheduled pre-judgment render the judgment nonfinal	Murray: entry of summary judgment final despite pending fee motions	Defendants: pending fee motions filed before judgment prevent finality	Court: motions filed and set for hearing before judgment must be resolved before judgment is final; appeal dismissed
Whether an appeal from a nonfinal order divests the trial court of jurisdiction to rule on pending fee motions	Murray: filing notice of appeal divested trial court	Defendants: trial court retained jurisdiction over fee motions	Court: notice of appeal from nonfinal order does not divest trial court; fee motions remained pending and trial court erred in declining to rule but appellate jurisdiction absent
Whether appellate court has jurisdiction over consolidated appeals when fee motions remain undecided	Murray: appellate jurisdiction exists over summary judgment orders	Defendants: no appellate jurisdiction until fee motions resolved	Court: no jurisdiction; both appeals dismissed until fee motions resolved

Olson v. Palagi, 266 Neb. 377, 665 N.W.2d 582 (silence of judgment on attorney fees may be construed as denial where no separate pre-judgment fee motion is pending)
NEBCO, Inc. v. Murphy, 280 Neb. 145, 784 N.W.2d 447 (treating silence as implicit denial when no separate fee motion filed)
Billingsley v. BFM Liquor Mgmt., 259 Neb. 992, 613 N.W.2d 478 (appeal premature when post-judgment relief or fees reserved and not yet decided)
In re Guardianship & Conservatorship of Woltemath, 268 Neb. 33, 680 N.W.2d 142 (appeal premature where court reserved ruling on attorney fees)
Shasta Linen Supply v. Applied Underwriters, 290 Neb. 640, 861 N.W.2d 425 (jurisdictional questions of law reviewed de novo)
Salkin v. Jacobsen, 263 Neb. 521, 641 N.W.2d 356 (statutory rule that fee requests must be made prior to judgment)
In re Guardianship of Sophia M., 271 Neb. 133, 710 N.W.2d 312 (notice of appeal from nonappealable order does not render void trial-court acts between notice and dismissal of appeal)