Opinion ID: 874293
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The District Court Was Within Its Discretion in Denying Attorney Fees Incurred in Confirming the Award.

Text: The Harneses also contend that since I.C. § 12-120(3) mandates attorney fees for the prevailing party in all commercial transaction cases, the district court erred by refusing to grant attorney fees for the bare act of confirming the arbitration award and for the actions they took in securing attorney fees after the confirmation. The UAA's specific provisions relating to attorney fees control this issue, not I.C. § 12-120. As previously stated, I.C. § 12-120(3) entitles the prevailing party to reasonable attorney fees for the litigation components of arbitrated disputes that involve a commercial transaction. I.C. § 12-120(3); City of McCall v. Buxton, 146 Idaho 656, 664, 201 P.3d 629, 637 (2009). By comparison, § 7-914 of the UAA governs when the district court grants an order confirming, modifying or correcting an arbitration award. I.C. § 7-914 (emphasis added). [5] In Driver v. SI Corp ., this Court acknowledged that I.C. § 12-120(3) requires attorney fees in commercial transactions, but stated that I.C. § 7-914 controls because it specifically applies to arbitrations. See Driver v. SI Corp., 139 Idaho 423, 429, 80 P.3d 1024, 1030 (citing Owen v. Burcham, 100 Idaho 441, 444, 599 P.2d 1012, 1015 (1979)); cf. Moore v. Omnicare, Inc., 141 Idaho 809, 817-18, 118 P.3d 141, 149-50 ([A] general entitlement to an award of attorney's fees under I.C. § 12-120 will not override a valid agreement between parties which limits the dollar amount that may be claimed or awarded.). Unlike § 12-120, the UAA provision on its face conveys discretion to the district court in awarding attorney fees, stating that costs and disbursements of the confirmation proceeding  may be awarded by the court. I.C. § 7-914. Driver thus expressly held that post-arbitration attorney fees are awardable in the discretion of the district court for fees incurred in the district court proceeding. Id. at 430, 80 P.3d at 1031; see also Deelstra, 145 Idaho at 925, 188 P.3d at 867 (stating that fee awards outside of arbitration are matters for the district court). Leaving post-arbitration fee awards in the discretion of the district court aligns Idaho with other states that have adopted the UAA. The UAA is to be interpreted to make uniform the law of those states which enact it. I.C. § 7-921. The general consensus among other state appellate courts in interpreting their respective § 7-914 counterparts is that the district court may award confirmation fees in its discretion. See Canon Sch. Dist. No. 50 v. W.E.S. Const. Co., 180 Ariz. 148, 882 P.2d 1274, 1279-80 (1994) (en banc) (holding that the confirming court may, where appropriate, award attorney's fees and that a general fee-shifting statute did not control over the specific UAA provision); Rogers & Theobald L.L.P. v. Phonejockey, No. 1 CA-CV 05-0753, 2008 WL 3916016, at  (Ariz.Ct.App.2008) (reviewing for an abuse of discretion); County of Clark v. Blanchard Const. Co., 98 Nev. 488, 653 P.2d 1217, 1220 (1982) (same); Wachtel v. Shoney's, Inc., 830 S.W.2d 905, 910 (Tenn.Ct.App.1991) (same); cf. Greenfeld v. Caesar's Atlantic City Hotel/Casino, 334 N.J.Super. 149, 756 A.2d 1096, 1102 (Law Div.2000) (holding that a general rule requiring the court to award costs to the prevailing party does not apply to arbitration confirmation proceedings). It was within the district court's discretion to deny fees for the confirmation proceedings. The standard of review is whether the court perceived the issue as one of discretion, acted within the outer boundaries of its discretion and consistently with the legal standards applicable to the specific choices available to it, and reached its decision by an exercise of reason. Read v. Harvey, 147 Idaho 364, 369, 209 P.3d 661, 666 (2009). As the district court observed, confirmation proceedings are ordinarily summary affairs that require little time, effort, or mental exertion, and for which at most only a small fee could be charged. The court must confirm the award unless one of the parties affirmatively resists. I.C. § 7-911. Since parties that choose to confirm their arbitration awards do so in order to obtain a judgment, a fee award for their efforts is not always necessary to promote the public policy of encouraging early payment of valid arbitration awards or to discourage nonmeritorious protracted confirmation challenges. Driver, 139 Idaho at 430, 80 P.3d at 1031 (citing Canon Sch. Dist., 882 P.2d at 1279). The district court could therefore rightfully deny a fee award where the losing party does not resist the confirmation, although it could award fees where the non-prevailing party unjustifiably acts to prolong the litigation by unsuccessfully contesting the confirmation of the award. Grease Spot did not resist the confirmation and only challenged the Harneses' request for attorney fees, so the attorney fees the Harneses incurred after the district court confirmed the arbitration were largely unsuccessful attempts to recover more attorney fees. Thus, the district court did not abuse its discretion when it denied attorney fees subsequent to arbitration.