Opinion ID: 889580
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Issue Four: Did the District Court abuse its discretion in awarding JTL attorney fees and costs?

Text: ¶ 47 Finally, New Outlook contends that the District Court erred in awarding attorney fees to JTL. First, New Outlook argues that JTL failed to present any evidence or third-party expert testimony to support an award of attorney fees. Instead, New Outlook contends that JTL relied upon the self-serving affidavits of its attorneys to establish an award of attorney fees. Second, New Outlook asserts that many of the fees incurred by JTL in this case were unrelated to the construction lien, and should not have been awarded by the District Court. Third, New Outlook argues that attorney fees incurred in connection with the taking and defending of depositions, as well as those fees related to the presentation of expert testimony, are not recoverable in this case. Fourth, New Outlook generally contends that JTL's claim of over 190 hours of trial preparation attorney fees in October and November 2007 is excessive. Fifth, New Outlook claims that the District Court erred in awarding JTL attorney fees it incurred in establishing its right to attorney feesi.e., fees for fees. For these reasons, New Outlook argues the District Court's award of attorney fees should be reversed. ¶ 48 JTL contends that the District Court did not abuse its discretion in awarding attorney fees, and that its decision should be upheld. JTL notes that New Outlook filed untimely objections to the costs, did not request a hearing on attorney fees, and did not present any expert testimony or evidence to overcome the presumption that the lodestar calculation was correct. ¶ 49 JTL also argues there was no injustice in the District Court's decision. JTL maintains that New Outlook unnecessarily prolonged this case, engaged in discovery abuse, filed numerous motions, and set forth numerous contentions in the pretrial order which JTL had to spend time analyzing and preparing for, even though New Outlook did not litigate many of those contentions at trial. Further, JTL claims that New Outlook identified several hundred pages of documents, and approximately 112 exhibits, which it had to analyze and consider in order to be properly prepared for trial. ¶ 50 JTL also contends that the District Court correctly determined that all of the claims in this case were inextricably intertwined, involving the same facts and same witnesses, and that it was not possible to segregate the time among claims. Under Blue Ridge Homes, JTL argues the award of attorney fees was appropriate. ¶ 51 We review an award of attorney fees for an abuse of discretion. Blue Ridge Homes, ¶ 20. An abuse of discretion occurs when the district court acts arbitrarily without the employment of conscientious judgment or exceeds the bounds of reason resulting in substantial injustice. James Talcott Const., Inc. v. P & D Land Enterprises, 2006 MT 188, ¶ 62, 333 Mont. 107, 141 P.3d 1200. ¶ 52 We agree with JTL that the District Court did not abuse its discretion when it awarded attorney fees. The construction lien statutes contain fee-shifting provisions for the party which prevails in establishing a lien. As we stated in Laudert, there is a strong presumption, given the rationale behind fee-shifting provisions, that the lodestar fee is a reasonable fee. Laudert, ¶ 17 (citing Pennsylvania v. Delaware Valley Citizens' Council for Clean Air, 478 U.S. 546, 565, 106 S.Ct. 3088, 3098, 92 L.Ed.2d 439 (1986)). Here, the lodestar fee established by JTL was entitled to this presumption of reasonableness, and New Outlook failed to produce sufficient evidence to overcome this presumption. As noted by JTL, New Outlook waived its right to a hearing on attorney fees, and presented no expert testimony or evidence to demonstrate that JTL's lodestar calculation was unreasonable. ¶ 53 Furthermore, the District Court correctly determined that the claims in this case were intertwined, and acted within its discretion when it awarded JTL attorney fees based on the construction lien statutes. See Blue Ridge Homes, ¶ 78 (noting that a district court may consider intertwined claims, involving the same factual and legal issues, for purposes of calculating attorney fees and costs). Similarly, the award of attorney fees incurred in the taking and defending of depositions was reasonable under § 71-3-124(1), MCA, as this statute allows the party who establishes a construction lien to recover fees incurred in the district and supreme courts. Finally, we specifically held in Blue Ridge Homes, that fees for fees are recoverable in actions which establish a construction lien. Blue Ridge Homes, ¶ 81. In sum, New Outlook has failed to demonstrate how, under the circumstances of this case, the District Court's award of attorney fees was arbitrary, unreasonable, or resulted in substantial injustice to New Outlook.