Alaska Building, Inc. v. Legislative Affairs Agency

A building owner sued an agency of the Alaska Legislature and a private developer, alleging that the agency and developer had entered into an illegal lease for the building next door. The complaint sought both declaratory relief invalidating the lease and monetary compensation calculated as a percentage of the savings once the lease was invalidated. The building owner succeeded in invalidating the lease but lost the compensation claim; the superior court concluded that the claim had no basis in Alaska law. The court later found that the compensation claim was frivolous and justified a sanction under Alaska Civil Rule 11. The building owner appealed that decision. After review, the Alaska Supreme Court concluded the compensation claim was based on a nonfrivolous argument for establishing new law and thus did not violate Rule 11, and therefore reversed. View "Alaska Building, Inc. v. Legislative Affairs Agency" on Justia Law