UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

SHELBY MCKNIGHT; RENEE LOWERY; 

LISA PETERSON; GREGORY FLEMING;

NADRA SMITH; PONNETTE SMITH;

SHEILA SMITH; PATRICIA SPENCER;

EDWARD STOKES; SONYA HAIRSTON;

DYNELLE JOHNSON,  No. 99-1007

Plaintiffs-Appellees,

v.

CIRCUIT CITY STORES, INCORPORATED,

Defendant-Appellant. 

SHELBY MCKNIGHT; RENEE LOWERY; 

LISA PETERSON; GREGORY FLEMING;

NADRA SMITH; PONNETTE SMITH;

SHEILA SMITH; PATRICIA SPENCER;

EDWARD STOKES; SONYA HAIRSTON;

DYNELLE JOHNSON,  No. 00-2402

Plaintiffs-Appellees,

v.

CIRCUIT CITY STORES, INCORPORATED,

Defendant-Appellant. 

Appeals from the United States District Court

for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Richmond.

James R. Spencer, District Judge.

(CA-95-964-3)

Argued: April 3, 2001

Decided: June 19, 2001
Before WIDENER, WILKINS, and LUTTIG, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed in part and vacated and remanded in part by unpublished

per curiam opinion. 

COUNSEL

ARGUED: Gregory Willis Homer, SWIDLER, BERLIN, SHEREFF,

FRIEDMAN, L.L.P., Washington, D.C., for Appellant. David Jay

Cynamon, SHAW PITTMAN, Washington, D.C., for Appellees. ON

BRIEF: Gerald S. Hartman, John E. Menditto, SWIDLER, BERLIN,

SHEREFF, FRIEDMAN, L.L.P., Washington, D.C.; W. Stephen Cannon, Pamela G. Parsons, Teri C. Miles, CIRCUIT CITY STORES,

INC., Richmond, Virginia, for Appellant. Atina S. Harley-Boyce,

Amy E. Goldfrank, SHAW PITTMAN, Washington, D.C.; Roderic

V.O. Boggs, Avis E. Buchanan, WASHINGTON LAWYERS’ COMMITTEE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS AND URBAN AFFAIRS, Washington, D.C.; John A. Gibney, Jr., SHUFORD, RUBIN & GIBNEY,

P.C., Richmond, Virginia, for Appellees.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See

Local Rule 36(c). 

OPINION

PER CURIAM: 

This case is before the court for the third time. See Lowery v. Circuit City Stores, Inc., 158 F.3d 742 (4th Cir. 1998) [hereinafter Lowery I], vacated and remanded, 527 U.S. 1031 (1999); Lowery v.

Circuit City Stores, Inc., 206 F.3d 431 (4th Cir.) [hereinafter Lowery

II], cert. denied, 121 S. Ct. 66 (2000). Presently at issue are orders of

2 MCKNIGHT v. CIRCUIT CITY STORES
the district court concerning costs and attorneys’ fees. We affirm in

part, vacate in part, and remand for further proceedings. 

I.

A.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY1

This suit was commenced by 11 black employees and former

employees of Circuit City Stores, Incorporated (collectively, "the

Plaintiffs"). They alleged that Circuit City engaged in racial discrimination against them and a class of black employees. They sought

relief pursuant to two federal civil rights statutes. See 42 U.S.C.A.

§§ 1981, 2000e-5 (West 1994). 

The case was initially filed in Maryland, but the district court there

transferred it to the Eastern District of Virginia. In Virginia, the district court certified a class but then decertified it. Of the Plaintiffs’

non-class claims, most were dismissed before or during the trial; the

remainder were submitted to the jury, which returned a mixed verdict

(as explained in more detail in Part I.B., infra). The jury awarded

compensatory and punitive damages, and the district court granted

injunctive relief. The court also awarded attorneys’ fees and costs to

the Plaintiffs (as discussed in Part I.C., infra). 

Circuit City and the Plaintiffs appealed. In Lowery I, we vacated

certain aspects of the judgment challenged by Circuit City (including

the punitive damage award and the fee and costs awards), affirmed

the remainder of the judgment, and remanded for a recalculation of

fees and costs. See Lowery I, 158 F.3d at 768. The Plaintiffs sought

review in the Supreme Court, raising four issues. The Supreme Court

granted certiorari, vacated our decision, and remanded for further proceedings in light of Kolstad v. American Dental Ass’n, 527 U.S. 526,

534-46 (1999) (enunciating standard for punitive damages in discrim1A full discussion of the facts underlying this litigation appears in

Lowery I. See Lowery I, 158 F.3d at 749-57. We will not recapitulate that

discussion here, although the issues presently before us require a detailed

review of the facts relating to certain aspects of this case. 

MCKNIGHT v. CIRCUIT CITY STORES 3
ination cases). See Lowery II, 206 F.3d at 436. In response, we reinstated the punitive damage award but reaffirmed all other holdings in

Lowery I, including the vacatur of the fee and costs awards and the

accompanying remand. See id. at 437. 

On remand, the district court reduced the fee award slightly but did

not alter its prior assessment of costs. The district court also ordered

Circuit City to pay interest from the date of the original fee and costs

awards, denied Circuit City a bill of costs, and awarded the Plaintiffs

fees and costs associated with their certiorari petition. This appeal followed. 

B.

RESULTS OF THE PLAINTIFFS’ CLAIMS AND

REQUESTS FOR RELIEF

Because "the most critical factor in calculating a reasonable fee

award is the degree of success obtained," McDonnell v. Miller Oil

Co., 134 F.3d 638, 641 (4th Cir. 1998) (internal quotation marks

omitted), we must consider the extent to which the Plaintiffs prevailed

on their various claims and received the relief they sought. Here, 11

Plaintiffs submitted over 50 claims and requested unspecified damages and a broad remedial injunction. Ultimately, only two Plaintiffs

prevailed on a total of three claims; they received a combined award

of $288,700, plus limited injunctive relief. A more detailed review of

the Plaintiffs’ claims and their results follows. 

1. Group Claims and Remedies

The Plaintiffs filed this case as a class action. The district court initially certified a class but later rescinded the class certification sua

sponte. See Lowery I, 158 F.3d at 753-54. We affirmed this decision.

See id. at 759. 

Despite decertifying the class, the district court allowed the jury to

consider the Plaintiffs’ allegation that Circuit City engaged in a pattern and practice of discrimination. The jury found for the Plaintiffs

on this claim, but we reversed, holding that individuals may not maintain a private, non-class pattern and practice claim. See id. at 761. 

4 MCKNIGHT v. CIRCUIT CITY STORES
In addition, at the close of the proceedings, the district court

entered a broad injunction regulating employment practices at Circuit

City. We vacated most of this decree, affirming only the portion that

sought to remedy discrimination against Plaintiff Renee Lowery. See

id. at 766-67. 

2. Shelby McKnight

McKnight alleged that Circuit City delayed her promotion, promoted several less-qualified white employees ahead of her, and then

paid her less than her white peers following her promotion. Some of

these claims were dismissed before reaching the jury, and the jury

rejected the rest. 

3. Gregory Fleming

Fleming brought three claims against Circuit City. The district

court entered summary judgment against him on two of these claims

(that he was denied a transfer and that he was demoted). On the third

claim (alleging discriminatory denial of a promotion), the district

court directed a verdict in favor of Circuit City. 

4. Sonya Hairston and Dynelle Johnson

Hairston and Johnson each submitted two claims. All of these were

dismissed on statute of limitations grounds.

5. Renee Lowery

Lowery was one of the two Plaintiffs who achieved partial success.

She alleged that she was unlawfully denied promotions on six separate occasions. Three of her claims were found to be barred by the

statute of limitations. The remaining three were submitted to the jury,

which found for Lowery on one claim and for Circuit City on the

other two. The jury awarded Lowery $5,000 in back pay, $7,500 in

compensatory damages, and $225,000 in punitive damages. We initially overturned the punitive damage award, but we reinstated it after

the Supreme Court directed us to reconsider our holding in light of

Kolstad. See Lowery II, 206 F.3d at 446. 

MCKNIGHT v. CIRCUIT CITY STORES 5
6. Lisa Peterson

Peterson, the other partially successful Plaintiff, alleged ten separate incidents of discrimination, all involving the promotion of lessqualified white employees. The jury found that two of these claims

were meritorious but rejected the other eight. For the two meritorious

claims, the jury awarded $1,500 in back pay, $2,700 in compensatory

damages, and $47,000 in punitive damages. Peterson’s punitive damage award, like Lowery’s, was initially reversed but then reinstated.

See id. at 447. 

7. Nadra Smith

Nadra Smith alleged that Circuit City denied three employment

applications for discriminatory reasons. The district court entered

summary judgment against her on all three claims. 

8. Ponnette Smith

Ponnette Smith alleged that Circuit City paid a less-qualified white

employee more than it paid her and promoted less-qualified white

employees ahead of her. The unequal pay claim was denied by summary judgment, and the district court directed a verdict in favor of

Circuit City on the denial of promotion claim. 

9. Sheila Smith

Sheila Smith raised two claims, both involving Circuit City’s failure to promote her. The district court granted summary judgment in

favor of Circuit City on both claims. 

10. Patricia Spencer

Spencer’s eight claims alleged discrimination in promotions, the

denial of requested transfers, and unequal pay. Summary judgment

was entered in Circuit City’s favor on all of these claims. 

11. Edward Stokes

Stokes alleged that Circuit City thrice discriminated in promotions

and then transferred him to a position not suitable for him. The dis6 MCKNIGHT v. CIRCUIT CITY STORES
trict court granted summary judgment on two of the promotion claims

(on statute of limitations grounds) and on the transfer claim. The third

promotion claim was terminated by directed verdict.

C.

FEES AND COSTS

After the district court entered its judgment, the Plaintiffs moved

for an award of attorneys’ fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C.A. § 1988(b)

(West Supp. 2000) and 42 U.S.C.A. § 2000e-5(k). In computing their

compensable hours, the Plaintiffs’ counsel included the time devoted

to the three successful individual claims, plus the time spent on other

efforts that contributed to the Plaintiffs’ success on their pattern and

practice claim, their demand for punitive damages, and their request

for broad injunctive relief. Counsel excluded time that was devoted

solely to unsuccessful individual claims and made several additional

deductions. Counsel then assessed the value of these hours based on

prevailing rates, which varied according to each attorney’s experience

and location (either Richmond, Virginia or Washington, D.C.). These

calculations resulted in requests totaling $3,596,614 in fees (the lodestar). Counsel also sought reimbursement for $749,501 in total costs.

With one modification, the district court accepted these figures.

The court found that the Plaintiffs "obtained excellent results." J.A.

4380. The court further agreed that even hours spent on unsuccessful

individual claims were compensable to the extent that they contributed to the Plaintiffs’ success in other ways. See id. at 4377 ("[I]t is

entirely feasible that the hours attributed to the plaintiffs who were

unsuccessful on their individual claims aided the plaintiffs in supporting and winning on their successful claims."). However, because

these hours were devoted to both successful and unsuccessful claims,

the district court imposed an across-the-board 10% deduction in the

lodestar and the costs request. This resulted in a fee award totaling

$3,236,953 and a costs award totaling $674,551, for a sum of

$3,911,504. 

In Lowery I, we vacated this award. Having reversed the pattern

and practice verdict, the punitive damage award, and much of the

injunction, we "conclude[d] that the Plaintiffs in fact achieved a very

MCKNIGHT v. CIRCUIT CITY STORES 7
low degree of success." Lowery I, 158 F.3d at 767-68. We therefore

remanded to the district court for recalculation of fees and costs. See

id. at 768. We adhered to this decision in Lowery II but "acknowledge[d] that our affirmance on remand of . . . the award of punitive damages means the Plaintiffs achieved a higher degree of success

in the case than we first determined." Lowery II, 206 F.3d at 448. 

On remand from this court, the district court again characterized

the Plaintiffs as "successful." Supp. J.A. 120. The district court further concluded that most of the work performed by the Plaintiffs’

attorneys should be considered in calculating the fee because most of

the Plaintiffs’ claims arose from a "core of facts common to both the

successful and unsuccessful claims." Id. In addition, the district court

found that Circuit City made this case more expensive by "mounting

an aggressive defense." Id. at 121. Based on these considerations, the

court adhered to the previous lodestar calculations but took an additional 15 percentage-point reduction (for a total reduction of 25% off

the original lodestar), resulting in an award totaling $2,697,454.

Regarding costs, the district court reinstated its previous award of

$674,551. The court also awarded interest from the date of the original fee award.2

In addition, the district court ordered partial reimbursement for the

Plaintiffs’ fees and costs during appellate proceedings. The Plaintiffs

claimed $229,302.50 in fees and $21,743.47 in costs, accounting for

much (but not all) of their time and expenses relating to preparation

of their certiorari petition and their brief in Lowery II. The district

court awarded the sums requested "based on [the] results achieved at

both the Supreme Court and the Fourth Circuit on remand." Id. at 123.

Finally, the district court rejected a bill of costs submitted by Circuit City. This bill embraced the filing fees for two notices of appeal,

transcription costs for certain depositions and court proceedings,

copying costs for trial exhibits, and other enumerated expenditures.

Circuit City requested reimbursement totaling $89,560.25. 

2The court awarded $775,123 in interest, but the parties agree that this

was a miscalculation and that the correct figure is $660,623. Our resolution of the other issues in this appeal renders moot any issue regarding

the miscalculation of interest. 

8 MCKNIGHT v. CIRCUIT CITY STORES
The fee and costs awards made by the district court on remand

totaled $4,398,173.97. This is more than 12% higher than the total

award we reversed in Lowery I. 

II.

The primary subject of this appeal is the award of $2,697,454 in

attorneys’ fees for trial-related services. Circuit City contends that the

district court relied on faulty premises and applied inappropriate

hourly rates. We agree in part and therefore vacate the fee award. 

In civil rights cases, the district court has statutory authority to

award attorneys’ fees to "the prevailing party." 42 U.S.C.A.

§ 1988(b); id. § 2000e-5(k); see Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424,

429 & n.2, 433 n.7 (1983) (noting that the Supreme Court has interpreted these statutes to allow prevailing plaintiffs to receive fees in

most cases while prevailing defendants may receive fees only in limited circumstances). When litigation results in a mixed verdict, as

occurred here, a plaintiff’s success on some issues will suffice to confer prevailing party status. See id. at 433. In awarding fees to a partially successful plaintiff, the district court must consider both the

hours reasonably devoted to the litigation and the degree of success

achieved. See id. at 433-37. 

With these principles in mind, we now consider each of Circuit

City’s arguments. We review the fee award for abuse of discretion.

See Brodziak v. Runyon, 145 F.3d 194, 196 (4th Cir. 1998).

A.

PREMISES AND PROPORTIONALITY

The district court premised its fee award on its determinations that

the Plaintiffs were highly successful, that achieving this success

entailed extensive efforts before and during the trial, and that these

efforts were impeded by the conduct of Circuit City during this litigation. Circuit City challenges all of these premises and asserts that, in

any event, the district court should not have awarded fees so much in

excess of the damage award. We agree with some of Circuit City’s

arguments. 

MCKNIGHT v. CIRCUIT CITY STORES 9
Initially, we agree with Circuit City that the district court overstated the extent of the Plaintiffs’ success. It noted that the Plaintiffs

prevailed on few of their individual claims but opined that this fact

was outweighed by the broader impact of this litigation. According to

the district court, this lawsuit vindicated valuable rights that the Plaintiffs share with other employees. This is indeed a proper consideration. See City of Riverside v. Rivera, 477 U.S. 561, 574-75 (1986)

(plurality opinion). However, even with respect to the societal interests that the Plaintiffs sought to advance, they were only partially successful. There were four aspects of the Plaintiffs’ case that had the

potential to influence Circuit City’s conduct beyond its treatment of

the individual Plaintiffs—the motion for class certification, the assertion of a pattern and practice claim, the request for broad injunctive

relief, and the demand for punitive damages. Of these, only the punitive damages effort ultimately proved fruitful, and then only as to the

two successful Plaintiffs. In light of these results, the district court

should not have credited the Plaintiffs with the degree of success suggested in its opinion. 

While we agree that the Plaintiffs achieved limited success, we do

not agree with Circuit City that this success required only minimal

effort. First, the district court found otherwise, and its finding in this

regard is entitled to great deference "in view of the district court’s

superior understanding of the litigation." Hensley, 461 U.S. at 437.

Second, contrary to Circuit City’s assertion, the record establishes

that the Plaintiffs did more than prove three simple discrimination

claims; these claims, and the accompanying demands for punitive

damages, were buttressed by evidence of a widespread pattern of

questionable employment practices. See Lowery II, 206 F.3d at 445-

46, 447 (upholding punitive damage awards based in part on evidence

of the general attitudes of Circuit City’s managers). When claims are

interrelated in this manner, the district court is not required to sort out

the hours devoted to successful claims from those expended on fruitless efforts. See Hensley, 461 U.S. at 435 (stating that in many cases,

"[m]uch of counsel’s time will be devoted generally to the litigation

as a whole, making it difficult to divide the hours expended on a

claim-by-claim basis"). 

We also reject Circuit City’s complaint that the district court

unfairly characterized the manner in which Circuit City defended

10 MCKNIGHT v. CIRCUIT CITY STORES
itself in this suit. Once again, our deference to such assessments is

considerable, because the district court observes more of each party’s

conduct than is reflected in the record. See Johnson v. Hugo’s

Skateway, 974 F.2d 1408, 1418 (4th Cir. 1992) (en banc) ("[T]he

exercise of discretion in awarding attorneys fees typically is based on

first-hand knowledge of the case and factors bearing on the reasonableness of a fee . . . ."). Moreover, the statements by the district court

about Circuit City’s behavior are noteworthy for their evenhandedness:

Although this case was complex from inception, Circuit

City made it even murkier by increasing the obstacles to litigating by mounting an aggressive defense. . . . A defendant

is indeed entitled to use any litigation strategy that it desires

and pursue an aggressive defense to achieve its goal; however, the defendant cannot complain, and should not be surprised, when such a strategy increases the fees and expenses

for which it may be held liable as a non prevailing party. 

Supp. J.A. 121. We see no basis for disturbing this conclusion. 

We need not dwell on Circuit City’s remaining argument, that the

fee award should be proportional to the amount of damages awarded.

"The amount of damages a plaintiff recovers is certainly relevant to

the amount of attorney’s fees to be awarded . . . ." City of Riverside,

477 U.S. at 574 (plurality opinion). Nevertheless, both the Supreme

Court and this court have flatly rejected the mechanical application of

ratios in calculating attorney fee awards. See id.; Brodziak, 145 F.3d

at 197. The district court should apply this factor as it sees fit when

it reformulates its fee award. 

In sum, we agree with Circuit City that the district court overestimated the extent of the Plaintiffs’ success, and we therefore vacate the

fee award and remand for further consideration of this issue by the

district court. We reject, however, Circuit City’s arguments with

respect to the complexity of this case and the nature of Circuit City’s

defense; the district court may re-examine these issues, but our mandate does not require it to do so. Finally, while the amount of damages recovered is a proper consideration in calculating a fee award,

strict proportionality is not appropriate. 

MCKNIGHT v. CIRCUIT CITY STORES 11
B.

HOURLY RATES

Circuit City next contends that the Plaintiffs’ attorneys, including

those from the District of Columbia, should have been remunerated

at Richmond rates because the trial and most of the related proceedings occurred in Richmond. The Plaintiffs contend that the use of

Washington rates was approved in Lowery I and is not subject to

reconsideration now. 

Initially, we disagree with the Plaintiffs’ procedural argument.

They assert that Circuit City challenged the use of Washington rates

in Lowery I and that we implicitly rejected this claim by not expressly

sustaining it. In both Lowery I and Lowery II, however, we vacated

the fee and costs awards in their entirety and remanded for further

proceedings. Our mandate did not compel the district court to alter

every aspect of its prior awards, but neither was any aspect of those

awards entrenched as the law of the case. See Perillo v. Johnson, 205

F.3d 775, 780 (5th Cir. 2000) (holding that prior opinion addressing

one dispositive issue did not foreclose further consideration of other

issues that were raised on appeal but not addressed). 

With respect to the merits of this claim, the district court upheld the

use of Washington rates on the grounds that the case was first filed

in the Washington area (in Greenbelt, Maryland) and that the Plaintiffs "had been building their relationship with [Washington-based

attorneys] for months before the case was transferred to Richmond."

J.A. 4375. These are sound considerations, but other factors are also

relevant. In particular, a transferee court must determine whether the

plaintiffs properly filed their case in the transferor district. See Polk

v. N.Y. State Dep’t of Corr. Servs., 722 F.2d 23, 25 (2d Cir. 1983).

On remand, the district court should consider whether it was proper

to initiate this suit in suburban Maryland even though all of the Plaintiffs’ claims arose from their employment in Richmond and most of

the Plaintiffs still resided in the Richmond area. 

III.

Circuit City’s remaining claims challenge the decisions of the district court reinstating its original award of trial-related costs, requiring

12 MCKNIGHT v. CIRCUIT CITY STORES
Circuit City to pay interest from the date of the original fee and costs

awards, granting in full the Plaintiffs’ requests for appeal-related fees

and costs, and denying Circuit City’s bill of costs. Circuit City’s

claim regarding the interest award presents a predominantly legal

question, which we review de novo. See Citicorp Real Estate, Inc. v.

Smith, 155 F.3d 1097, 1107 (9th Cir. 1998). The other rulings at issue

are reviewed for abuse of discretion. See Cherry v. Champion Int’l

Corp., 186 F.3d 442, 446 (4th Cir. 1999). 

A.

PLAINTIFFS’ TRIAL-RELATED COSTS

On remand, the district court reinstated its previous ruling allowing

the Plaintiffs to recover $674,551 in trial-related expenses. The court

offered no explanation for this decision. For this reason, and in light

of our determination that the court relied on erroneous premises during proceedings on remand, we vacate the costs award and remand for

further consideration. 

B.

INTEREST

Having vacated the fee and costs awards, we must, at the least,

vacate the interest award as well and order recalculation based on new

fee and costs assessments. Circuit City asks us to go further and hold

that the Plaintiffs are not entitled to any interest. We decline to do so.

In general, a party that has obtained a monetary award is also entitled to interest on that award from the date of the judgment. See 28

U.S.C.A. § 1961(a) (West 1994). The Supreme Court outlined an

exception to this rule in Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. v. Bonjorno, 494 U.S. 827 (1990). In Kaiser Aluminum, the case was tried

in its entirety twice, and the second trial resulted in an award of damages to the plaintiffs ("the first award"). See id. at 829-30. On motion

of the defendants, the district court ruled that this damage award was

not supported by the evidence and ordered a new trial limited to the

issue of damages; the jury once again awarded the plaintiffs substanMCKNIGHT v. CIRCUIT CITY STORES 13
tial damages ("the second award"). See id. at 830. The district court

reduced the second award, but the full (second) award was reinstated

on appeal. See id. The plaintiffs claimed that they were entitled to

interest from the date of the first award, but the Supreme Court disagreed:

"[T]he purpose of postjudgment interest is to compensate

the successful plaintiff for being deprived of compensation

for the loss from the time between the ascertainment of the

damages and the payment by the defendant." Poleto v. Consolidated Rail Corp., [826 F.2d 1270, 1280 (3d Cir. 1987)].

Where the judgment on damages was not supported by the

evidence, the damages have not been "ascertained" in any

meaningful way. 

Id. at 835-36 (first alteration in original). 

Relying on Kaiser Aluminum and similar cases, Circuit City contends that the Plaintiffs are barred from recovering interest from the

date of the original fee and costs awards because our decisions in

Lowery I and Lowery II vacated those awards and altered several

aspects of the judgment underlying them. We disagree. The narrow

exception set forth in Kaiser Aluminum applies when an initial finding

of liability is vacated, or when an initial computation of damages

lacks factual support. By contrast, the exception rarely, if ever,

applies when an initial liability determination is upheld but the

amount of the award is vacated due to error or abuse of discretion by

the district court. We treat a party’s failure to present sufficient evidence differently from a judge’s legal mistake or misuse of discretion

because it would be unjust to "penalize appellees for the trial judge’s

error." Cordero v. De Jesus-Mendez, 922 F.2d 11, 18 (1st Cir. 1990).

Here, Circuit City has never contested that it is liable for attorneys’

fees in some amount. Moreover, while Circuit City has criticized the

billing practices of Plaintiffs’ counsel, we have never questioned the

adequacy of the evidence supporting counsel’s fee and costs requests.

Accordingly, it was proper for the district court to award interest from

the date of the initial fee and costs awards (June 25, 1997). And, lest

there be any confusion on remand, we note that nothing in this opinion should be construed to interrupt the accumulation of interest. This

14 MCKNIGHT v. CIRCUIT CITY STORES
interest should be calculated based on the amount of fees and costs

ultimately determined to be appropriate. 

C.

APPELLATE FEES AND COSTS

The district court awarded the Plaintiffs $251,045.97 in appealrelated fees and expenses. This figure represents the full amount

requested by the Plaintiffs’ attorneys. The district court offered no

explanation for its decision beyond a reference to the "results

achieved at both the Supreme Court and the Fourth Circuit on

remand." Supp. J.A. 123. While we agree with the district court that

the Plaintiffs were largely successful in the Supreme Court and in this

court in Lowery II, we vacate this award and remand to allow the

court to explain more fully the analysis underlying this award and to

make any modifications it deems appropriate. In particular, we direct

the district court to address whether the bill submitted by the Plaintiffs’ attorneys adequately accounts for the fact that their certiorari

petition was only partially successful. Whatever the district court

decides, interest on the amount ultimately awarded shall accrue from

September 27, 2000, the date the original award was entered. 

D.

CIRCUIT CITY’S BILL OF COSTS

The final issue before us concerns the denial of Circuit City’s

request for reimbursement of various costs incurred before and during

trial and on appeal. We affirm in part and vacate in part. 

The "prevailing party" in the district court is ordinarily entitled to

recover costs incurred in district court proceedings. Fed. R. Civ. P.

54(d)(1). The premise of Circuit City’s motion for costs was that it

was the prevailing party at trial, at least as to those Plaintiffs whose

claims were rejected in their entirety. We do not accept this premise.

As we indicated in our discussion of attorneys’ fees, this case was not

a cluster of discrete lawsuits but rather a unified effort by several

claimants whose evidence was mutually reinforcing. Cf. Hensley, 461

MCKNIGHT v. CIRCUIT CITY STORES 15
U.S. at 435 (noting, in the context of attorneys’ fees, that it is often

appropriate to treat a case as an integrated unit rather than a collection

of separate claims). When the case is viewed in this manner, the

Plaintiffs are entitled to prevailing party status even though they were

only partially successful. See Bly v. McLeod, 605 F.2d 134, 137 (4th

Cir. 1979) ("It is settled that in order to be a prevailing party one need

not win on every issue in the case."). As we stated earlier, the district

court should account for the fact that the Plaintiffs failed on numerous

claims by reducing their costs award. Nevertheless, Circuit City was

not a prevailing party in the district court and is not entitled to an

award of trial-related costs. 

A separate rule, Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 39, allows the

prevailing party on appeal to recover appellate costs. Circuit City

claims that this rule entitles it to recovery of at least some of its costs

from Lowery I. We agree. The district court granted the Plaintiffs a

partial costs award based on the partial success of their certiorari petition. Circuit City is entitled to the same treatment with respect to its

extensive success in Lowery I, with due allowance for the fact that the

Plaintiffs achieved a partial modification of Lowery I in their favor.

IV.

In sum, we (1) vacate the trial-related fee award and remand for

appropriate reductions; (2) vacate the trial-related costs award and

remand for an explanation and appropriate modifications; (3) uphold

the determination that the Plaintiffs are entitled to post-judgment

interest but vacate the amount of interest awarded; (4) vacate the

appeal-related fee and costs awards and remand for an explanation

and appropriate modifications; and (5) affirm in part and vacate in

part the denial of the bill of costs and remand for an appropriate

award of appeal-related costs to Circuit City. In the interest of minimizing further litigation, we hold that each party must bear its own

costs in this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 39(a)(4).

AFFIRMED IN PART; VACATED

AND REMANDED IN PART

16 MCKNIGHT v. CIRCUIT CITY STORES