Harder v. Foster

Nos. 116,117 116,543 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF KANSAS EVELYN HARDER, Appellant, v. RONALD H. FOSTER, et al., Appellees. SYLLABUS BY THE COURT 1. A court may not award attorney fees absent statutory authority or an agreement by the parties. 2. The merger doctrine stands for the principle that a contract merges into a judgment entered upon it, and the judgment thereafter defines the parties' legal rights. Under the merger doctrine, postjudgment attorney fees are generally not recoverable unless the contract has specifically provided for postjudgment attorney fees. 3. The meaning…