Not legal advice
This describes how the process generally works. Deadlines in your case may differ. If something has been filed against you, talk to a lawyer.
What it costs, and who pays
Whether you can recover your fees, whether you can be made to pay theirs, and how the two situations differ.
The two proceedings this site tracks answer the money question in opposite directions. Knowing which one you are in changes what fighting is worth.
The other side pays, and it is not discretionary
The court shall award a prevailing moving party court costs, reasonable attorney fees, and reasonable litigation expenses related to the motion. That is mandatory language, not a factor the court weighs.
How far it reaches was narrowed in 2026. In Aston v. Chronicle-Progress, a district court awarded roughly $394,000 covering essentially all the work in the case. The Utah Supreme Court reversed, holding that "related to the motion" means only work reasonably necessary to prosecute the special motion. Keep your time entries in a form that separates the two.
You do not automatically owe them anything
A responding party recovers fees only if it prevails and the court finds the motion was frivolous or filed solely to delay the proceeding. Losing a motion made in good faith does not trigger a fee award against you.
§ 78B-25-110The meter stops
Filing the motion automatically stays all proceedings between the parties, including discovery. In an ordinary case discovery is where the money goes, so the stay itself is part of the cost answer.
§ 78B-25-104(1)Fees are available, but the test is hard and conjunctive
A court may award a respondent reasonable attorney fees only if the respondent substantially prevails and the court finds all three of the following: the petition was without merit; the agency's actions in filing it lacked a reasonable basis in fact or law; and the agency filed it in bad faith.
All three, not any one. Governmental immunity does not bar the claim. No published decision reflects such an award.
§ 63G-2-209(10)(b)Section 209 provides no fee award to the agency
The statute's fee provision runs one direction only. What you lose is access: the agency is relieved of any duty to answer your requests for up to a year, and the order also reaches anyone who submits a request on your behalf.
§ 63G-2-209(8)(b), (10)(b)Mediation is free, and it buys you time
The Government Records Ombudsman mediates records disputes at no cost. Requesting mediation suspends the 30-day clock for judicial review, from the day you ask until the ombudsman certifies that mediation concluded or did not occur.
§ 63G-2-404(1)(b)This is general information, not legal advice. Fee exposure turns on facts specific to your case. If money is the thing deciding whether you fight, that is exactly the question to put to a lawyer before a deadline runs.