Opinion ID: 874017
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: neither party is entitled to fees on appeal

Text: Both parties request fees on appeal under I.C. § 12-117. The Randels alternatively seek fees on appeal under I.C. § 12-121. Section 12-117 authorizes fees to the prevailing party on appeal. Daw v. School Dist. 91 Bd. of Trustees, 136 Idaho 806, 808, 41 P.3d 234, 236 (2001). The Court employs a two-part test for I.C. § 12-117 on appeal: the party seeking fees must be the prevailing party and the losing party must have acted without a reasonable basis in fact or law. Id. Here, the City is the prevailing party, but the Randels did not pursue this appeal without a reasonable basis in fact or law. So, neither party is entitled to fees on appeal under I.C. § 12-117. Furthermore, I.C. § 12-117 is the exclusive means for awarding attorney fees for the entities to which it applies. Potlatch Educ. Ass'n, 148 Idaho at 635, 226 P.3d at 1282. Thus, even if the Randels prevailed, they would not be entitled to fees under I.C. § 12-121.