This is plaintiffs second appeal in this case. In the prior appeal, this Court affirmed a final order of summary disposition based on the statute of limitations. Avery v Demetropoulos, unpublished opinion per curiam of the Court of Appeals, decided July 29, 1992 (Docket No. 129680). After the appeal, the trial court awarded costs and attorney fees of $5,588.04 to defendant because plaintiff filed a frivolous claim within the meaning of MCL 600.2591(3); MSA 27A.2591(3). *502 Plaintiff appeals as of right from that decision. We affirm.
Preliminarily, we reject defendant’s argument that this appeal should be dismissed. MCR 7.212(A)(4) and (I). We note that we could simply strike plaintiff’s brief for failure to comply with MCR 7.212(C), especially the failure to include a statement of questions involved. MCR 7.212(C)(4). However, in the interests of judicial economy we have reviewed the matter, limiting our review to the specific questions gleaned from or presented by plaintiff’s arguments.
The trial court had jurisdiction to consider defendant’s motion for taxation of costs and attorney fees after the prior appeal was decided by this Court. Cf.
Wilson v General Motors Corp,
Next, MCR 2.504(B)(3) does not require that a trial court address the issue of costs in a final order disposing of the claims in a case. The purpose of MCR 2.504(B)(3) is to classify those dismissals entered by a court that are silent regarding their effect. See 3 Martin, Dean & Webster, Michigan Court Rules Practice, Rule 2.504, Authors’ Comment, p 59. This rule has been used to bar lawsuits involving the same matters and parties as those in prior lawsuits under principles of res judicata.
Makowski v Towles,
The flaw in plaintiff’s argument is his failure to
*503
recognize that there can be more than one final judgment or order in an action. An order to allow attorney fees after entry of an order disposing of the meritorious question is one of the specific circumstances where separate final orders are recognized.
Gherardini v Ford Motor Co,
Further, plaintiffs reliance on MCR 2.625(F) to support his claim that defendant waived the issue of costs is misplaced. Because the issue of costs was decided under MCL 600.2591; MSA 27A.2591 and required a judicial determination, MCR 2.625(F) did not apply. The appropriate standard to apply to the statute is whether the motion for costs was filed within a reasonable time after the prevailing party was determined. See
Giannetti Bros Construction Co, Inc v Pontiac,
Finally, the trial court did not clearly err in finding that plaintiff’s claim was frivolous within the meaning of MCL 600.2591(3); MSA 27A.259K3).
DeWald v. Isola,
Affirmed.
