Randy Poole v. Darin DavisRandy Poole v. Darin Davis
Randy and Trudi Poole filed an action against Darin Davis, dba Darin Davis Construction (Davis), alleging breach of contract, breach of warranty, and fraud. Davis counterclaimed for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and promissory estoppel. The jury found that the Pooles had prevailed only on the fraud claim and that Davis had not proved any of his counterclaims. The district court entered judgment in favor of the Pooles for $65,331 in damages on the fraud claim. The Pooles moved for attorney fees and costs, claiming that as the prevailing party in a dispute over a commercial transaction, they were entitled to fees pursuant to
I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
In 2007, the Pooles entered into a written contract with Davis to build the Pooles a house near Blackfoot, Idaho. After a dispute over the cost of the construction, the Pooles filed a complaint against Davis, alleging two counts of breach of contract and one count of breach of the implied warranty of workman-like performance. The Pooles later filed an amended complaint, adding a count of fraud and alleging damages of at least $171,592. Davis eventually filed a counterclaim for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and promissory estoppel. The case went to trial and the jury returned a verdict finding that Davis did not breach the contract or the implied warranty of workman-like performance, but did commit fraud. The jury awarded damages in the amount of $65,331. After the trial, the Pooles requested an award of attorney fees. The district court held a hearing at which both parties argued the attorney fees issue, and the court denied the request after determining that there was no prevailing party. The Pooles moved for reconsideration of the attorney fees issue. After conducting another hearing and considering the parties’ arguments, the district court issued an order denying the motion for reconsideration.
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
Determination of the prevailing parties in a civil action is committed to the sound discretion of the trial court. Eighteen Mile Ranch, LLC v. Nord Excavating & Paving, Inc., 141 Idaho 716, 718-19, 117 P.3d 130, 132-33 (2005) (citing Burns v. Baldwin, 138 Idaho 480, 486-87, 65 P.3d 502, 508-09 (2003)). When reviewing a district court‘s decision to determine whether the court abused its discretion, “this Court considers whether the district court: (1) perceived the issue as one of discretion; (2) acted within the outer boundaries of that discretion and consistently within the applicable legal standards; and (3) reached its decision by an exercise of reason.” Jorgensen v. Coppedge, 148 Idaho 536, 538, 224 P.3d 1125, 1127 (2010) (citing Shore v. Peterson, 146 Idaho 903, 915, 204 P.3d 1114, 1126 (2009)). “Only in the rarest of circumstances will this Court reverse the district court‘s determination of which party prevailed.” Shore, 146 Idaho at 914, 204 P.3d at 1125.
III. ANALYSIS
A. The record on appeal is not sufficient to permit this Court to review the Pooles’ claims.
The Pooles contend that the district court abused its discretion by finding that there was no prevailing party because “there are no written orders” that explain the district court‘s reasons for its determination. Davis
1. The district court is not required to issue written findings to support its prevailing-party determination.
To the extent the Pooles contend the district court erred by failing to explain its prevailing-party determination in writing, their argument is not persuasive. As we have explained, “the law is clearly settled that when awarding attorney fees in a civil action, the district court must consider the
Similarly, the text of
In determining which party to an action is a prevailing party and entitled to costs, the trial court shall in its sound discretion consider the final judgment or result of the action in relation to the relief sought by the respective parties. The trial court in its sound discretion may determine that a party to an action prevailed in part and did not prevail in part, and upon so finding may apportion the costs between and among the parties in a fair and equitable manner after considering all of the issues and claims involved in the action and the resultant judgment or judgments obtained.
2. The Pooles have not provided a sufficient record on appeal.
It is a long-standing principle that this Court will not presume error by a trial court. As early as 1867, the Territorial Supreme Court held that “[a]n appellate court will not presume error in the court below, and thus throw the onus on the respondent of establishing its correctness.” Goodman v. Minear Mining & Milling Co., 1 Idaho 131, 134 (1867). The Court continued that “[a]ll intendments must be in favor of sustaining the judgments of courts of original jurisdiction, and to disturb such judgment, it is not sufficient that error may have intervened, but it must be affirmatively shown by the record.” Id. (quotation omitted). More recently, we held that an appellant bears the burden of providing a record that is sufficient “to substantiate his or her claims on appeal.” Jacklin Land Co. v. Blue Dog RV, Inc., 151 Idaho 242, 249, 254 P.3d 1238, 1245 (2011) (quoting W. Cmty. Ins. Co. v. Kickers, Inc., 137 Idaho 305, 306, 48 P.3d 634, 635 (2002)). Indeed, not only is error not presumed, but if “a party appealing an issue presents an incomplete record, this Court will presume that the absent portion supports the findings of the trial court.” State v. Willoughby, 147 Idaho 482, 488, 211 P.3d 91, 97 (2009) (citing Slack v. Kelleher, 140 Idaho 916, 924, 104 P.3d 958, 966 (2004)). In Jacklin, the appellant argued that the district court erred in awarding attorney fees to the respondent. 151 Idaho at 249, 254 P.3d at 1245. While we ultimately vacated the judgment for the appellant, we also held that the record the appellant submitted was inadequate to review the issue of attorney fees because it did not include the respondent‘s memorandum of costs, a motion opposing costs, or any order by the district court and that we would “not presume error” by the district court. Id. In another case, we affirmed a district court‘s denial of an appellant‘s post-trial motion because the appellant “failed to include a copy of the hearing transcript or the district court‘s written ruling in the record on appeal,” holding that when the record is inadequate “to review the [appellant‘s] claims, we will not presume error below.” Indian Springs LLC v. Indian Springs Land Inv., LLC, 147 Idaho 737, 751, 215 P.3d 457, 471 (2009). Thus, unless the appellant affirmatively demonstrates error from the record, this Court presumes that the trial court‘s decision was proper.1
In this case, the record on appeal does not allow us to determine whether the district court abused its discretion. The record shows that the district court held a hearing on the Pooles’ motion for attorney fees and costs on March 4, 2011, and at the conclusion of the hearing, found that there was no prevailing party. The Pooles moved for reconsideration of the court‘s decision, and a hearing was held on April 22, 2011. The district court denied the motion, again concluding that there was no prevailing party. As the Pooles note, the record contains two documents titled Minute Entry and Order, which recite the court‘s finding that there was no prevailing party, but there is no written explanation of the court‘s rationale for the decision. The minute entries also indicate that counsel for both parties presented argument at the hearings. However, the record does not include a transcript of either hearing. If we had these transcripts, we could have reviewed them to determine whether the district court abused its discretion. Instead, the Pooles ask this Court to review the district court‘s decision without knowing the legal standard the court applied or the reasons for its determination. We must decline this invitation. Without transcripts from the hearings, the record is not sufficient to substantiate the Pooles’ claim that the district court abused its discretion.
Thus, without benefit of the hearing transcripts, the only way this Court could grant the relief the Pooles seek would be to hold, as a matter of law, that where a plaintiff recovers on any of its claims and avoids liability on all counterclaims, it is entitled to attorney fees as the prevailing party. The Pooles filed two claims for breach of contract, one claim for breach of the implied warranty of workman-like performance, and one claim of fraud.2 They successfully recovered damages on their claim of fraud and avoided liability on Davis‘s counterclaims. But they were not successful on their other theories of recovery. To hold that this factual scenario entitles the Pooles to attorney fees as a matter of law would require the Court to ignore precedent. For example, in Israel v. Leachman, the Court held that in cases where “there are claims, counterclaims and cross-claims, the mere fact that a party is successful in asserting or defeating a single claim does not mandate an award of fees to the prevailing party on that claim.” 139 Idaho 24, 27, 72 P.3d 864, 867 (2003) (quoting Chenery v. Agri-Lines Corp., 106 Idaho 687, 691, 682 P.2d 640, 644 (Ct.App.1984)). The Israels, like the Pooles in this case, were Plaintiff-Appellants contesting a denial of attorney fees after prevailing on some claims but not on others. Id. at 25-26, 72 P.3d at 865-66. We affirmed the district court, reasoning that
B. Attorney fees on appeal.
The Pooles request attorney fees on appeal pursuant to
Davis also requests attorney fees on appeal pursuant to
Here, Davis‘s request for attorney fees on appeal consists of a single sentence at the end of his brief, with citations to
IV. CONCLUSION
We affirm the district court‘s order finding that neither party prevailed. Costs, but not attorney fees, to Davis.
Chief Justice BURDICK and Justices EISMANN, J. JONES and W. JONES Concur.