Kansas Department of Revenue v. Powell

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Nuss, J.:

This case concerns a refusal to award attorney fees. The Kansas Department of Revenue (KDR) was the prevailing party in a Civil Service Board (Board) action initiated by Jill Powell under the Kansas Whistleblower Act, K.S.A. 2005 Supp. 75-2973. The Board’s order denying KDR attorney fees was affirmed by the district court and the Kansas Court of Appeals. We granted KDR’s petition for review; jurisdiction is under K.S.A. 20-3018(b).

The basic issue on appeal is whether the Board abused its discretion in denying the KDR fees motion under K.S.A.…