Court Opinion

ID: 9850588
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 04:59:39.275615+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:20:39.986807
License: Public Domain

FULLER, Judge Pro Tern.,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I concur in all parts of the foregoing opinion, except parts IV and V and that part of VI restating the conclusions reached in those parts.
In my view, the magistrate abused his discretion when he failed to apportion the attorney fees, and when the magistrate considered the parties’ pretrial negotiations as a factor in awarding attorney fees. The magistrate’s award permits Northwest to recover all of its fees for defending both the contract claim and the Consumer Protection Act claim, even though Northwest did not prevail on both. This, in my view, was clearly erroneous. The trial court need not blindly accept Northwest’s position that the services could not be apportioned. See Craft Wall of Idaho, Inc. v. Stonebraker, 108 Idaho 704, 701 P.2d 324 (Ct.App.1985).
The magistrate stated in his decision on post-trial motions: “Negotiations had occurred before the lawsuit was filed which would have resulted in a significant adjustment to the remaining contract price due.” The magistrate also quoted from Etcheverry Sheep Co. v. J.R. Simplot Co., 113 Idaho 15, 740 P.2d 57 (1987), which contains language that a trial court is not precluded from considering pretrial negotiations in determining whether the criteria of I.R.C.P. Rule 54(e)(1) have been established. However, Etcheverry is not authority for the trial court to consider matters outside the record or to second-guess settlement negotiations. See Severson v. Hermann, 116 Idaho 497, 777 P.2d 269 (1989).
The majority affirms an award of attorney fees based on I.C. § 12-120 and the contract between the parties, but not on the basis of I.C. § 12-121 and Rule 54(e)(1). However, the magistrate determined who was the prevailing party and to whom he would award attorney fees on all three grounds. When the magistrate exercised his discretion to determine these issues, he improperly considered the pretrial negotiations.
In my view, this matter should be affirmed in part, reversed in part, and returned to the magistrate for reconsideration of the attorney fees issue.