Goff v. H.J.H. Co.

DONALDSON, Justice.

The Court is asked to decide whether I. C. § 45-615(4) requires that treble damages be awarded to any successful plaintiff in a suit for wages wrongfully withheld, even without a showing that the person who withheld the wages acted with malice, wantonness, fraud or oppression. For reasons that will be discussed, we have concluded that treble damages must be awarded whenever it is proved that wages have been wrongfully withheld.

Dallas Goff, plaintiff-appellant, was employed as a sales representative by the defendant-respondent H. J. H. Co., a farm implement dealership in…