Bott v. Idaho State Bldg. Authority
| Decision Date | 17 May 1996 |
| Docket Number | No. 21344,No. 49,21344,49 |
| Citation | 128 Idaho 580,917 P.2d 737 |
| Parties | Donald BOTT, John Anton Berg, and James E. Hoar, Individually and as Joint Venturers, Plaintiffs-Respondents-Cross Appellants, v. IDAHO STATE BUILDING AUTHORITY, an Independent Public Body Corporate, Defendant-Appellant-Cross Respondent. 1996 Opinion . Boise, December 1995 Term |
| Court | Idaho Supreme Court |
Hawley, Troxell, Ennis & Hawley, Boise, for appellant. Albert P. Barker argued.
Nyman & Thomas, Boise, and Hall, Farley, Oberrecht & Blanton, Boise, for respondent. Kenneth D. Nyman and Raymond D. Powers argued.
This case involves a breach of contract action. The Idaho State Building Authority (the ISBA) contracted with architects, Donald Bott, John Anton Berg, and James E. Hoar (collectively referred to as Bott), to design and administrate the construction of a project to expand and modernize the Idaho State School for the Deaf and the Blind. Prior to the completion of the project Bott was terminated from the project. The present case is the ISBA's appeal from the district court's order denying portions of the ISBA's motion for a judgment n.o.v., denying the ISBA's motion for a new trial, and
[128 Idaho 583] awarding Bott interest, attorney fees, and costs. Bott cross-appeals from the district court's order granting judgment n.o.v. on Bott's claims for an incentive bonus and for interior design services provided by Bott.
This matter originated in 1987 and has been the subject of a prior appeal before this Court in Bott v. Idaho State Bldg. Auth., 122 Idaho 471, 835 P.2d 1282 (1992) (Bott I ). The relevant facts in this case are as follows.
In January 1985, the ISBA and Bott entered into a contract, which provided that Bott would provide architectural and other services for a project to expand, renovate, and remodel facilities at the Idaho State School for the Deaf and Blind in Gooding, Idaho. Under the Architect Agreement (the Agreement) entered into by the parties, the ISBA was to pay Bott 7.75% of the total construction cost, plus, if the total construction cost was less than $8,200,000.00, ISBA was to reward Bott with an incentive bonus of 10% of the amount by which the total construction cost was less than $8,200,000.00. The Agreement provided that any "additional services" requested by the ISBA would be compensated at an hourly rate, not to exceed amounts specified in the Agreement. The services provided by Bott were to be divided into four phases: the schematic design phase, the design development phase, the final documents and bidding phase, and the construction phase. Bott completed the schematic design phase, the design phase, and provided construction documents on the living units and the educational facilities to go out to bid. 1 In July 1986, prior to the completion of the construction phase, Bott was terminated from the project.
Bott subsequently filed suit seeking compensation for the work it had completed on the project. At trial Bott argued that it had performed the architectural services required under the Agreement, but that Bott encountered repeated delays on the project due to the ISBA's frequent changes and readjustments to the designs proposed by Bott. The ISBA disagreed with Bott's contentions and argued that Bott was difficult to work with and that it caused its own problems because it did not follow the structured chain of command for getting designs approved. Bott sought damages totalling $212,447.00. This total consisted of the following claims:
Basic fees under the contract $ 44,252.00
Incentive bonus 38,314.00
Programming fees 10,905.00
Additional Services 118,976.00
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TOTAL $212,447.00
Bott's claim for the $118,976.00 in additional services, as presented at trial, consisted of the following amounts:
Landscaping $ 6,675.00
Educational Facilities 15,034.00
Interior Design 3,600.00
Roof Redesign 4,290.00
Second Schematic Design 2 89,377.00
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TOTAL $118,976.00
The jury returned a special verdict finding that Bott had substantially performed the contract until its termination and that the ISBA had breached the contract. The jury awarded Bott general damages of $201,542.00, less an offset of $2,250.00, for a total verdict of $199,292.00. There was no delineation of the amount of damages awarded by the jury with respect to each of Bott's claims. The district court entered judgment on the jury's verdict on September 12, 1989.
On September 20, 1989, Bott filed a motion seeking costs, pre-judgment interest, and attorney fees for both of Bott's attorneys, Mr. Kenneth Nyman and Mr. Raymond Powers. The ISBA subsequently filed post-judgment motions seeking a judgment n.o.v. under I.R.C.P. 50(b), a new trial under I.R.C.P. 59(a)(5), (a)(6), and (a)(7), a remittitur or The district court denied the ISBA's motion for judgment n.o.v. on the issue of breach of contract, but granted a new trial on the sole issue of damages. The district court held that the errors in the jury's determination of damages were substantial enough to support a conclusion that the jury acted under the influence of prejudice. The district court further concluded that it could not, based upon the record before it, make a determination of the damages in the case for the purposes of ordering a remittitur. The court held that the jury was properly instructed on the issues and that the requested instructions presented a correct statement of the law. The court declined to rule on the issue of attorney fees, costs, and pre-judgment interest, pending the outcome of the new trial. On January 22, 1990, the district court entered an order vacating the September 12, 1989 judgment, to the extent that it awarded damages and granted a new trial solely on the damages issue.
[128 Idaho 584] additur, and a judgment vacating the district court's prior judgment.
On appeal to the Supreme Court, the case was remanded to the district court for reconsideration of the ISBA's motion for judgment n.o.v. on the issue of damages and for clarification of the basis for the new trial order. Bott I, 122 Idaho at 481, 835 P.2d at 1292. The Court also held that the jury instructions given to the jury, accurately presented the issues and stated the applicable law. Id. at 476, 835 P.2d at 1287. Any errors in the jury instructions were held not to be prejudicial. Id. On the issue of attorney fees, the Court held that section 12-117 of the Idaho Code was inapplicable for the reason that the ISBA was not an "agency" within the meaning of the statute, but held that an award of attorney fees to the prevailing party below was appropriate under Idaho Code § 12-120(3). Id. at 479-81, 835 P.2d at 1290-92. Attorney fees on appeal were not awarded since neither party prevailed on appeal. Id. at 481, 835 P.2d at 1292.
On remand, the ISBA argued that judgment n.o.v. should be granted with respect to Bott's claims for the incentive bonus, the second schematic design, the landscaping work, and the interior design work. The ISBA further asserted that the ISBA is entitled to a new trial on the issues of both liability and damages.
In ruling on the issues presented, the district court divided the jury's general damage verdict of $199,292.00 into specific amounts allocated to each of Bott's claims for damages. These amounts were based on Bott's claims for damages presented at trial, less the $10,905.00 claim for programming services, which the jury appeared to have denied. Thus, the general damage verdict was broken down by the trial court as follows:
Basic Design Fee
Unpaid 7.75% fee $ 44,252.00
Incentive bonus $ 38,314.00
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TOTAL BASIC DESIGN FEE $ 82,566.00
Additional Services
Landscaping Work $ 6,675.00
Educational Facilities $ 15,034.00
Interior Design Work $ 3,600.00
Roof Redesign Work $ 4,290.00
Second Schematic Design $ 89,377.00
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TOTAL ADDITIONAL SERVICES $118,976.00
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TOTAL DAMAGES $201,542.00
LESS OFFSET $ 2,250.00
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NET VERDICT $199,292.00
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This breakdown by the trial court was premised upon specific exhibits admitted into evidence at the trial, which clearly and unequivocally set forth each claimed item of damage and the amount thereof. The jury's general verdict mirrored these trial exhibits. Neither party argues that this breakdown of the general verdict by the trial court was inaccurate.
The district court reversed its prior decision and granted judgment n.o.v. with respect to Bott's claims for the incentive bonus ($38,314.00) and the interior design work ($3,600.00), and denied judgment n.o.v. with respect to Bott's claims for compensation for the landscaping work ($6,675.00) and the second schematic design ($87,377.00). As a result of its conclusion, the district court reduced the $199,292.00 jury verdict by the amount of the claim for the incentive bonus and the interior design services, and determined that the damages totalled $157,378.00. 3 The jury's verdict was upheld, as reduced by the district court.
The district court further concluded that there was no basis for granting a new trial under I.R.C.P. 59(a)(5), (a)(6) or (a)(7). The district court held that there was no basis for granting a new trial pursuant to I.R.C.P. 59(a)(6)...
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