Alaska Supreme Court
Alaska Building, Inc., Appellant v. Legislative Affairs Agency and 716 West Fourth Avenue LLC, Appellees
August 25, 2017403 P.3d 1132
Summary
The Alaska Supreme Court held that Alaska Building's novel percentage-of-savings remedy was a nonfrivolous argument for establishing new law, even though it had little likelihood of success and lacked support in existing Alaska law. Because the record contained no evidence that the claim was asserted for an improper purpose, imposing Rule 11 sanctions was an abuse of discretion. The court reversed and remanded for reconsideration of the attorney-fee award; Justice Bolger, dissenting, would have affirmed because the claim lacked any legal theory or chance of success.