Opinion ID: 2219481
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Denial of Attorney Fees and Costs.

Text: Iowa Code section 490.1331(2) provides sanctions in the form of fees, expenses of counsel, and expert witness fees against both the corporation and the dissenting shareholder if the court finds that either party acted arbitrarily, vexatiously, or in bad faith. The court found that the evidence failed to show that the corporation acted arbitrarily, vexatiously, or not in good faith and rejected Baysden's claim for sanctions. The court found that, while the corporation offered Baysden substantially less than the amount ultimately found by the court to be the fair value of the shares ($3.43 per share against $9.56 per share), this disparity was not so great as to constitute sanctionable conduct. Moreover, the court pointed out that initially Baysden demanded $37.00 per share for his interest, which was $10.00 per share above the amount that his own appraiser said it was worth. In view of this and the other circumstances of the case, the court believed that the low figure submitted by the corporation did not constitute the type of conduct that should call for sanctions against it. There is necessarily a considerable amount of discretion in imposing sanctions, and we believe that the court did not abuse that discretion. Accordingly, we affirm on the sanction issue and the other issues raised. AFFIRMED.