Opinion ID: 1572514
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Common Law Attorney Fee Award

Text: The determination of whether to award attorney fees under common law rests in the court's equitable powers. Hockenberg Equip. Co. v. Hockenberg's Equip. & Supply Co., 510 N.W.2d 153, 158 (Iowa 1993). Therefore, our review of this issue is de novo. Iowa R.App. P. 4. Remer argues that if the court finds he is not able to recover attorney fees under Iowa Code section 625.29 then attorney fees should be granted based on Iowa common law. In Hockenberg, we noted that generally a party has no claim for attorney fees as damages in the absence of a statutory or written contractual provision allowing such an award. Hockenberg, 510 N.W.2d at 158. There is no written contract providing for an award of attorney fees in this case and we have already concluded that the statutory provision providing for fees in some proceedings involving the State is inapplicable in this case. In Hockenberg, we also noted that [c]ourts have recognized a rare exception to this general rule, however, `when the losing party has acted in bad faith, vexatiously, wantonly, or for oppressive reasons.' Id. (quoting Alyeska Pipeline Serv. Co. v. Wilderness Soc'y, 421 U.S. 240, 258-59, 95 S.Ct. 1612, 1622, 44 L.Ed.2d 141, 154 (1975) (citation omitted)). In expanding on the meaning of this exception to the common law rule prohibiting an award of attorney fees, we concluded that the opposing party's conduct must rise to the level of oppression or connivance to harass or injure another. Id. at 159-60. Based on the record before us, we conclude that the board's conduct in this investigation, although perhaps pervasive and persistent, did not rise to the level required to warrant an award of attorney fees under Iowa common law. We therefore reject Remer's second and final argument for an award of attorney fees. The judgment of the district court is affirmed. AFFIRMED. All justices concur except CARTER and ANDREASEN, JJ., who concur specially.