State ex rel. Oklahoma Department of Transportation v. Cedars Group, LLC

Summary

The Oklahoma Supreme Court held that the three-day mailing rule under 12 O.S. § 2006(D) applies to post-trial motions for costs and attorney fees filed in the district court. Because the defendants received the judgment by mail within three days of filing, they had 33 days from the judgment's filing date to submit their motions. The court vacated the Court of Civil Appeals' opinion, reversed the trial court, and remanded for a hearing on the motions.

Holdings

1. The three-day mailing rule of 12 O.S. § 2006(D) applies when a party is required to file a post-trial motion for costs and attorney fees after being served with the judgment by mail.
2. When actual notice of the filed judgment is undisputedly received within three days after filing, the thirty-day period for filing motions for costs and attorney fees begins on the judgment's filing date; the mailing rule then adds three additional days.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the three-day mailing rule in 12 O.S. § 2006(D) applies to post-trial motions for costs and attorney fees filed in the district court after service of the judgment by mail.
2. Whether defendants' receipt of actual notice of the filed judgment within three days, despite the absence of a filed certificate of service, triggered the thirty-day period for filing motions for costs and attorney fees from the judgment's filing date.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded