Opinion ID: 1199084
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the award of attorney fees under the private attorney general doctrine is affirmed

Text: We affirm the award of attorney fees under the Private Attorney General Doctrine and adopt the reasoning of the Court of Appeals: In evaluating a claim for attorney fees under [the Private Attorney General Doctrine, we] recently suggested in Hellar v. Cenarrusa, 106 Idaho 571, 682 P.2d 524 (1984) [1] , that the district court must consider (1) the strength and societal importance of the public policy indicated by the litigation, (2) the necessity for private enforcement and the magnitude of the resultant burden on the plaintiff, and (3) the number of people standing to benefit from the decision. Here, the record supports the district court's determination that all three of these criteria were met. In Fox's words, this action was pursued to ensure that Boundary County was governed by rule of law, not of man. Without Fox's efforts it was highly unlikely that the actions of the Boundary County Board of Commissioners would have been challenged. It is equally clear that this action imposed a substantial personal burden, both financial and emotional, on Mr. Fox. As a result of this litigation, all of the citizens of Boundary County benefitted from Fox's perseverance. We conclude that the district court committed no error in deciding to award attorney fees to Fox under the Private Attorney General theory. Because we affirm the award of attorney fees to Fox under the Private Attorney General Doctrine, we need not address the district court's award of fees pursuant to I.C. § 12-117 and I.C. § 12-121. The portion of the Court of Appeals opinion which addressed those statutes is vacated. Fox having already been awarded costs incurred on the appeal below by the Court of Appeals, no further costs on review to this Court are allowed. BAKES, C.J., and JOHNSON, BOYLE and McDEVITT, JJ. concur.