JAMES SKODA AND MICHAEL CALLAHAN, PLAINTIFFS-APPELLANTS,
v.
CARL FONTANI, DEFENDANT-APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Plaintiffs who win a jury verdict, even for nominal damages, are prevailing parties entitled to attorney's fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988.
Plaintiffs obtained a one-dollar jury verdict in their civil rights action. The district court denied their request for attorney's fees under 42 U.S.C…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Special Circumstances cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
The district court denied plaintiff’s request for attorney’s fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988. We reverse and remand.
Plaintiffs won a jury verdict of only one dollar in their civil rights action against defendant. Although this may be considered a small victory, plaintiffs did win a verdict in their favor. They are thus the prevailing parties under 42 U.S.C. § 1988, contrary to the district court’s conclusion.
The district court here did not articulate any “special circumstances” which would render any award of fees unjust. Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc., 390 U.S. 400, 88 S.Ct. 964, 19 L.Ed.2d 1263 (1968). Nor did the court consider the appropriate amount of the award, since it ruled that plaintiffs did not prevail.
In Murphy v. Kolovitz, 635 F. 2d 662 (7th Cir. 1981), and Muscare v. Quinn, 614 F. 2d 577 (7th Cir. 1980), we set forth rules to guide the court’s discretion in deciding what fee award, if any, is appropriate. See also Coop v. City of South Bend, 635 F. 2d 652 (7th Cir. 1980). On remand, the district court should consider whether any special circumstances exist, and if not, should decide the appropriate amount of the fee award in light of these decisions.
The order of the district court is REVERSED AND REMANDED.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (11 total)
-
Evans v. Jeff D., 475 U.S. 717 (U.S. 1986)
-
Rhodes v. Stewart, 488 U.S. 1 (U.S. 1988)
-
McCANN v. Coughlin, 698 F.2d 112 (2d Cir. 1983)
Previewing 3 of 11 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Newman v. Piggie Park Enters., Inc., 390 U.S. 400 (U.S. 1968)
- Muscare v. Quinn, 614 F.2d 577 (7th Cir. 1980)
- Bob Coop & Rhonda Coop v. City OF S. Bend, 635 F.2d 652 (7th Cir. 1980)
- Murphy v. Kolovitz, 635 F.2d 662 (7th Cir. 1981)