Wise Mechanical Contractors v. Bignell

I am compelled to dissent from the majority’s decision to uphold a $24,520 attorney fee award that is twice the amount counsel customarily would have charged for the services provided. In my view, the court’s opinion ignores the plain language *976of AS 23.30.145, mischaracterizes our case law, and permits the appearance of windfall fees to go virtually unquestioned.

When claimant Bignell applied to the superior court for attorney’s fees for appellate proceedings he urged the court to apply a multiplication factor of at least two in computing the fee award. Bignell calculated the fee his counsel…