Opinion ID: 452077
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: counsel fees under the clean air act

Text: 7 This fee petition is brought pursuant to the Clean Air Act's counsel fee provision, Sec. 304(d), 42 U.S.C. Sec. 7604(d), which states: 8 (d) Award of costs; security 9 The court, in issuing any final order in any action brought pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, may award costs of litigation (including reasonable attorney and expert witness fees) to any party, whenever the court determines such award is appropriate. 10 In Ruckelshaus v. Sierra Club, 463 U.S. 680, 103 S.Ct. 3274, 77 L.Ed.2d 938 (1983), the Supreme Court held that absent some degree of success on the merits by the claimant, it is not 'appropriate' for a federal court to award attorney's fees. Id. 103 S.Ct. at 3281. 6 Plaintiff is eligible for attorneys fees, therefore, only if it has achieved some success on the merits. 11 If plaintiff meets this threshold eligibility requirement, it is entitled under Sec. 304(d) to an award of reasonable fees. This part of the Clean Air Act's attorneys fee provision is consonant with the requirements of most other statutory attorneys fee provisions, including 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1988, and we see no reason why the calculation of a reasonable fee for Clean Air Act purposes should differ from the same calculation that courts undertake pursuant to other provisions with the identical standard. Accordingly, we hold that the jurisprudence regarding the calculation of reasonable attorneys fees developed in connection with other attorneys fee statutes--particularly Sec. 1988--is applicable to cases brought pursuant to Sec. 304(d). This includes the jurisprudence concerning the calculation of a lodestar, the determination of reasonable hourly rates, and the enhancement of a fee award based on the quality of the work. See generally Blum v. Stenson, --- U.S. ----, 104 S.Ct. 1541, 79 L.Ed.2d 891 (1984); Institutionalized Juveniles v. Secretary of Public Welfare, 758 F.2d 897 (3d Cir.1985). 12 Having set forth the contours of the Clean Air Act's attorneys fee provision, we now turn to a review of the challenged aspects of the fee award in this case. 13