Even when a litigant is sanctioned for filing a frivolous lawsuit and ordered to pay the opposing parties’ attorney fees, trial courts still need detailed evidence to rule on how much of the fee was reasonable, according to a recent Texas Supreme Court ruling.

The June 21 opinion in Nath v. Texas Children’s Hospital follows a chain of cases in recent years that blasted lawyers’ fee awards when the only thing to back them up was testimony and affidavits. The justices have strongly urged attorneys to provide courts with detailed billing records when they’re proving attorney fee awards.