Opinion ID: 2637676
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The State is entitled to attorney fees on appeal.

Text: The State has requested attorney fees on appeal, in accordance with I.C. § 39-8407(5) of the Complementary Act, which provides, [i]n any action brought by the attorney general to enforce this chapter, the attorney general shall be entitled to recover the costs of investigation, expert witness fees, costs of the action and reasonable attorney's fees. Maybee contends that attorney fees may not be awarded under this statute for two reasons: (1) the statute appears to allow the attorney general to recover attorney fees regardless of the ultimate success or failure of his suit, and (2) the provision does not allow Maybee the possibility of collecting attorney fees if he is the prevailing party. Although I.C. § 39-8407(5) does not, on its face, require the attorney general to be the prevailing party in order to recover attorneys fees and costs for actions brought in an effort to enforce the Complementary Act, we interpreted it as such. This is the first time this Court has interpreted I.C. § 39-8407(5). As noted above, rules of statutory construction dictate that a reviewing court shall not interpret a statute in a manner that leads to an absurd result, In re Daniel W., 145 Idaho 677, 680, 183 P.3d 765, 768 (2008), and the legislature in drafting a statute is charged with knowledge of applicable statutory background and legal precedent. Druffel v. State, Dep't of Transp., 136 Idaho 853, 856, 41 P.3d 739, 742 (2002). This Court is unable to find a single instance in the entire history of this state, and indeed the nation, where the non-prevailing party was awarded attorney fees. To hold otherwise would encourage absurd results. For example, reading I.C. § 39-8407(5) as allowing the attorney general to recover for attorney fees regardless of whether or not the attorney general ultimately prevails would lead to an absurd result wherein the attorney general could recover attorney fees for a lawsuit he brought frivolously and litigated in bad faith. The legislature clearly could not have intended to provide the attorney general with the means to recover attorney fees for an unmeritorious lawsuit. Therefore, we interpret Idaho Code § 39-8407(5) as only permitting the attorney general to recover attorney fees when the attorney general is the prevailing party. As to Maybee's second contention, that the statute may not be enforced if it does not provide for the possibility of mutual recovery (i.e. that since Maybee could not recover under the statute if he were the prevailing party, the statute cannot be enforced) this argument has no basis in law. In Gonzalez v. Thacker, this Court interpreted I.C. § 12-120(4), as allowing recovery of attorney fees for plaintiffs in personal injury cases, but not for defendants. No. 34534, 2009 WL 129671, at , ___ Idaho ___ at ___, ___ P.3d ___ at ___ (Idaho Jan. 21, 2009). As the State is the prevailing party on appeal, it is entitled to attorney fees, in accordance with Idaho Code § 39-8407(5).