Opinion ID: 874040
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Whether the wage claim act was the exclusive avenue for attorney fees.

Text: In his proposed judgment, Oakes asked the district court for treble damages under I.C. § 45-615, a section of the Idaho Wage Claims Act. Idaho Code section 45-615 allows attorney fees and treble damages in a suit filed to recover wages as they are defined by I.C. § 45-601(7). BHC argues that, since the district court declined to treble the damages, the court implicitly ruled that Oakes did not prevail on his wage claim and thus was not entitled to attorney fees and costs under I.C. § 45-615. BHC also argues that since Oakes characterized his lawsuit as a wage claim, I.C. § 45-615 should be his only avenue for attorney fees and costs. On appeal, Oakes has waived the issue of whether the district erred by not trebling damages under I.C. § 45-615. [2] In support of its position, BHC cites Bilow v. Preco, Inc., where an employee received summary judgment in his favor on a wage claim under I.C. § 45-615 but was not awarded attorney fees. 132 Idaho 23, 966 P.2d 23 (1998). On appeal, this Court found that: [A]n award of attorney fees in addition to treble damages would constitute an unreasonable windfall to the employee and would punish the employer too harshly. Therefore, we hold that I.C. § 45-615 is the exclusive code section under which an employee can recover attorney fees when the employee properly brings a claim for wages and treble damages under I.C. §§ 45-61[5], -617. Id. at 32, 966 P.2d at 32 (internal citations omitted). Here, the district court implicitly determined that Oakes's claim did not fall under I.C. § 45-615, so any case law stating I.C. § 45-615 as the exclusive avenue for attorney fees would be inapplicable. In addition, as discussed below, the claim is fundamentally a breach of contract claim. Therefore, Oakes's attempt to invoke the Idaho Wage Claim Act would not preclude his receipt of attorney fees under any other statute.