|
The North Dakota Supreme Court remanded a district court's order denying attorney fees to a party prevailing in a motion to vacate an arbitration award, noting that it could not review the order for abuse of discretion unless the court issued findings of fact.
In Gratech Company, Ltd. v. Wold Engineering, P.C., No. 20060272, 2007 WL 896059 (N.D. Mar. 27, 2007), Gratech entered into a contract with the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) for work on a U.S. Highway. In addition, Wold entered into a subcontract with NDDOT for the same project.
When a dispute arose, Gratech filed a complaint against Wold. The parties' dispute was sent to arbitration, and the arbitrator concluded that Gratech's claims were barred by collateral estoppel. The district court refused to vacate the award, but it also denied Wold's request for attorney fees.
Wold appealed the district court's refusal to award it attorney fees. Under North Dakota's Uniform Arbitration Act, N.D. Cent. Code §§ 32-29.3-22, 32-29.3-23, or 32-29.3-24, a court may award reasonable attorney fees to a prevailing party in an action contesting a judicial proceeding. Decisions regarding attorney fees are reviewed for abuse of discretion.
However, this Court was unable to determine whether the district court abused its discretion in refusing to award attorney fees because the district court did not make any findings of fact regarding the attorney fees issue. Therefore, the Court remanded the order so that the district court could issue a rationale for its denial of attorney fees.
Subscribe to a free weekly update on ADR case law and
legislation
|