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

Heading: R.C.P. 54(d)(1)(B).

Text: In determining which party prevailed where there are claims and counterclaims between opposing parties, the court determines who prevailed in the action; that is, the prevailing party question is examined and determined from an overall view, not a claim-by-claim analysis. Shore, 146 Idaho at 914, 204 P.3d at 1125; Eighteen Mile Ranch, 141 Idaho at 719, 117 P.3d at 133. BHC argues that Oakes was only partially successful, as evidenced by the partial award from the jury. BHC also argues that the wage claim was the gravamen of the lawsuit, that Oakes failed on this claim, and is therefore not the prevailing party. Oakes argues that breach of contract is the gravamen of the action, and that the wage claim is merely an addition. The gravamen of a claim is integral to the claim and constitute[s] the basis upon which the party is attempting to recover. Troupis v. Summer, 148 Idaho 77, 81, 218 P.3d 1138, 1142 (2009). Here, the fundamental issue in Oakes's complaint is whether or not the employment agreement was breached by either party, and any wage claim would be ancillary to that finding. Also, the jury instructions explicitly noted that any payments must arise as a matter of contract between Oakes and BHC. It is clear that the contract is the central issue, but that still leaves questions about the partial recovery. This Court has held that when both parties are partially successful, it is within the district court's discretion to decline an award of attorney fees to either side. Jorgensen v. Coppedge, 148 Idaho at 538, 224 P.3d at 1127 (citing Israel v. Leachman, 139 Idaho 24, 27, 72 P.3d 864, 867 (2003)). In Israel, the plaintiffs prevailed on their Idaho Consumer Protection Act claims but did not prevail on their breach of contract, statutory violations, or fraud claims. 139 Idaho at 25-26, 72 P.3d at 865-66. This Court affirmed the district court's decision not to award attorney fees because it determined that both parties prevailed in part. Id. at 28, 72 P.3d at 868. Similarly, in Trilogy Network Systems, Inc. v. Johnson, this Court affirmed the district court's determination that each party had prevailed in part and was unsuccessful in part because the plaintiff was successful in proving a breach of contract but failed to prove damages. 144 Idaho 844, 847-48, 172 P.3d 1119, 1122-23 (2007). In both Israel and Trilogy Network Systems, this Court deferred to the discretion of the district court because each time the lower court utilized, either explicitly or implicitly, the prevailing party analysis in Idaho Rule of Civil Procedure 54(d)(1)(B) and looked at the multiple claims of each party in determining that neither party prevailed in the action. See Jorgensen, 148 Idaho at 538-39, 224 P.3d at 1127-28. However, the present case is distinguishable from both Israel and Trilogy Network Systems. Unlike this case, Israel had no cross-appeal, so the respondent's defeat of several claims only constituted a partial victory when the action was viewed on the whole. 139 Idaho at 26, 72 P.3d at 866. In Trilogy Network Systems, the appellant was not able to prove damages to a reasonable certainty and was therefore not awarded damages at trial. 144 Idaho at 847, 172 P.3d at 1122. In contrast, here, Oakes was awarded $2,043.92 in damages on his claims and defeated BHC's counterclaim. The instant case is conceptually similar to this Court's holding in Eighteen Mile Ranch. In Eighteen Mile Ranch, the two parties were involved in a contract dispute, with each filing a claim against the other for payment under the contract. 141 Idaho at 718, 117 P.3d at 132. At trial, Nord Excavating was awarded $1,054.38 on a counterclaim in which they sought roughly $12,000. Id. This Court reversed the trial court's determination that, although the defendant successfully defended against the plaintiff's claims and won a small portion of their counterclaim, the defendant was not the prevailing party. 141 Idaho at 719, 117 P.3d at 133. In its holding, this Court analyzed the prevailing party issue through an overall view. Viewing its success from an overall standpoint, Nord Excavating was a prevailing party. In ruling it was not, the district court focused too much attention on the Company's less than tremendous success on its counterclaim and seemingly ignored the fact that the Company avoided all liability as a defendant. The district court improperly undervalued the Company's successful defense. Avoiding liability is a significant benefit to a defendant. In baseball, it is said that a walk is as good as a hit. The latter, of course, is more exciting. In litigation, avoiding liability is as good for a defendant as winning a money judgment is for a plaintiff. The point is, while a plaintiff with a large money judgment may be more exalted than a defendant who simply walks out of court no worse for the wear, courts must not ignore the value of a successful defense. In this case, logic suggests that a verdict in Nord Excavating's favor and a victory on its counterclaim (albeit, a relatively small one), by definition, makes it a prevailing party. Id. Here, the circumstances are very similar to those in Eighteen Mile Ranch. Oakes received an award far smaller than that which he sought, but he also defeated BHC's counterclaim. Additionally, the victory was not pyrrhic, as Oakes's award was for more than a nominal amount. See Burns v. Cnty. of Boundary, 120 Idaho 614, 818 P.2d 318 (1991) (where this Court affirmed that a plaintiff who sought $1,000,000 but only received $45 was not the prevailing party). Oakes argues that his award, coupled with the successful defense against BHC's counterclaim, constitutes the same dual victory achieved by Nord Excavating in Eighteen Mile Ranch. BHC points out that Nord Excavating was the defendant in Eighteen Mile Ranch, a position from which the avoidance of liability is an important victory. This argument is undermined by this Court's decision in Bates v. Seldin, where the plaintiff was found to be the prevailing party in a breach of contract claim. 146 Idaho 772, 774, 203 P.3d 702, 704 (2009). In Bates, this Court upheld the finding even though the plaintiff recovered substantially less than the amount sought, in part because the plaintiff successfully defended against the defendant's counterclaims. Id. at 777, 203 P.3d at 707. Given the analogous circumstances to the controlling precedent in Eighteen Mile Ranch and Bates, we find that the district court abused its discretion when it declined to find Oakes to be the prevailing party.