After taking some hard lumps in the courts this year, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission managed to save some face this week in battle over attorney fees. A federal appeals panel concluded a judge was too quick to award nearly $5 million in fees to a trucking giant represented by Jenner & Block, finding that such awards require a more careful analysis by the courts.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on Monday rejected much of the lower court’s decision, which put the EEOC on the hook for legal fees and costs in a sex discrimination suit against Jenner client CRST Van Expedited Inc. U.S. District Judge Linda R. Reade in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, had found CRST the prevailing party in the case and awarded the company $4.69 million in fees and costs—one of the largest such awards against the EEOC.
