Section 8 “Substantially Justified”

• Library: Administrative Law 2011

Attorney fees and costs will be awarded to a party who prevails in certain actions brought by or against the state in an agency or court proceeding, provided the position of the state was not substantially justified or that special circumstances make an award unjust. Section 536.087.2, RSMo 2000. A party seeking an award of fees and other expenses must specifically allege that the position of the state was not substantially justified and set out the facts supporting that allegation. Section 536.087.3. It should be remembered that there is no presumption that the state’s position was not substantially justified simply because it lost the underlying action on
the merits. Id. But the burden of proving that the state’s position was substantially justified is on the state. Greenbriar Hills Country Club v. Dir. of Revenue, 47 S.W.3d 346, 354...