Background
Marcus Frady petitioned to modify the parenting plan he shared with Hannah Dixon. After mediation, Dixon successfully moved to enforce the parties’ agreement, and the trial court entered an amended parenting plan on May 28, 2025.
On June 24, the court entered a corrected final order, nunc pro tunc to May 28, changing the end of twice-monthly weekend visitation from Saturday to Sunday. Frady then sought more than $19,000 in attorney fees under OCGA § 9-15-14. The trial court found the fee motion timely and awarded Frady $3,395, citing Dixon’s approximately 78 frivolous and procedurally improper pleadings.
The Court’s Holding
The Court of Appeals held that Frady’s fee motion was timely. Although the June 24 order was labeled nunc pro tunc, it substantively extended Frady’s visitation by a full day. It therefore was an improper nunc pro tunc correction of a judicial, rather than clerical, error, and the revised order was effective on June 24. Frady’s July 28 motion fell within the 45-day deadline.
But the court vacated the $3,395 fee award and remanded. The trial court did not identify the allegedly sanctionable pleadings, explain the time spent responding to them, or show how it derived $3,395 from counsel’s claimed $19,577.75 in fees and costs. OCGA § 9-15-14(b) requires particularized findings and a link between the sanctionable conduct and the fees awarded.
Key Takeaways
- A purported nunc pro tunc order that makes a substantive change is effective on the date of the revised order.
- A fee motion under OCGA § 9-15-14 is timely if filed within 45 days of that substantively revised final order.
- A trial court may not issue a lump-sum sanctions award without specifying the conduct and explaining the amount awarded.
Why It Matters
The decision distinguishes permissible clerical corrections from substantive revisions labeled nunc pro tunc, a distinction that can affect postjudgment deadlines. It also reinforces that fee sanctions under OCGA § 9-15-14(b) require findings detailed enough to permit appellate review.