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In Keenan v. Fearon, 130 N.H. 494, 543 A.2d 1379 (1988), we recognized a court’s power to award attorney’s fees “in any action commenced, prolonged, required or defended without any reasonable basis in the facts provable by evidence, or any reasonable claim in the law as it is, or as it might arguably be held to be.” Id.

The test for bad faith is an objective one.

Germain v. Adams, 117 N.H. 659, 662, 377 A.2d 620, 623 (1977); as “compensation for those who are forced to litigate in order to enjoy what a court has already decreed,” Keenan v. Fearon, 130 N.H. 494, 502, 543 A.2d 1379, 1383 (1988); see Indian Head National Bank v. Corey, supra at 86, 523 A.2d at 72; and “for those who are forced to litigate against an opponent whose position is patently unreasonable,” Keenan v. Fearon supra.

We vacated the *53 trial court’s order and remanded the matter to the superior court for reconsideration in light of Keenan v. Fearon, 130 N.H. 494, 543 A.2d 1379 (1988), a case concerning attorney’s fees which was so recent that it was not discussed in the parties’ briefs in this court’s proceedings.

Although the plaintiff requests attorney’s fees, we cannot conclude that this action was commenced or prolonged without “any reasonable claim in the law as it is, or as it might arguably be held to be,” Keenan v. Fearon, 130 N.H. 494, 502, 543 A.2d 1379, 1383 (1988), and accordingly, we decline to award attorney’s fees.

That rule was explained and affirmed in Indian Head National Bank v. Corey, 129 N.H. 83, 523 A.2d 70 (1986), and was most recently generalized in Keenan v. Fearon, 130 N.H. 494, 501-02, 543 A.2d 1379, 1383-84 (1988), where we explained that a constitutionally created court in this State is empowered to award fees “in any action commenced, prolonged, required or defended without any reasonable basis in the facts provable by evidence, or any reasonable claim in the law as it is, or as it migh

generally Keenan v. Fearon, 130 N.H. 494, 543 A.2d 1379 (1988); Sup.