The Civil Rights Attorney’s Fees Awards Act, 42 U.S.C. §1988(b), authorizes a court, in its discretion, to award a prevailing party in a §1983 suit “a reasonable attorney’s fee.”1 The April Public Interest Law column focused on the question of “prevailing party” status under federal civil rights fee shifting statutes. Assuming that the plaintiff is a prevailing party entitled to an award of §1988 fees, the court must determine a “reasonable attorney’s fee.” We now turn our attention to that issue.
On April 21, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered its much awaited decision in Perdue v. Kenny A.2 The Court held, in an opinion by Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., that a district court may increase the §1988 lodestar amount for superior performance and results in “rare” and “exceptional” circumstances. All of the justices agreed with this holding. However, dividing 5-4, the Court reversed the lodestar enhancement awarded to plaintiffs because the district court did not provide adequate justification for it.
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