Opinion ID: 563840
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: analysis

Text: 15 This court recently has noted that challenges to the factual findings of the district court face a substantial hurdle. Chesser v. Illinois, 895 F.2d 330, 335 (7th Cir.1990). We review the factual findings of the district court under a clearly erroneous standard. See, e.g., id.; EEOC v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 839 F.2d 302, 309 (7th Cir.1988). These findings will not be overturned if they are supported by evidence or inferences which avoid the realm of nonsense. Chesser, 895 F.2d at 334. In other words, the defendants must leave us with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed by the district court. Anderson v. City of Bessemer City, 470 U.S. 564, 573, 105 S.Ct. 1504, 1511, 84 L.Ed.2d 518 (1985). 16 George Court's primary contention on appeal is that Mr. Starks failed to carry his burden of proving a prima facie case of racial discrimination. This contention focuses on Mr. Starks' alleged failure to prove that he was replaced by a white worker or that his job performance was satisfactory. However, the Supreme Court's decision in United States Postal Service Board of Governors v. Aikens, 460 U.S. 711, 103 S.Ct. 1478, 75 L.Ed.2d 403 (1983), obviates the need for us to examine whether Mr. Starks indeed made a prima facie case. In Aikens, the Court stated that 17 when the defendant fails to persuade the district court to dismiss the action for lack of a prima facie case, and responds to the plaintiff's proof by offering evidence of a reason for the plaintiff's rejection, the factfinder must then decide whether the rejection was discriminatory within the meaning of Title VII.... The prima facie case method established in McDonnell Douglas was never intended to be rigid, mechanized, or ritualistic. Rather, it is merely a sensible, orderly way to evaluate the evidence in light of common experience as it bears on the critical question of discrimination. Furnco [Constr. Corp. v. Waters, 438 U.S. 567, 577, 98 S.Ct. 2943, 2949, 57 L.Ed.2d 957 (1978) ]. Where the defendant has done everything that would be required of him if the plaintiff had properly made out a prima facie case, whether the plaintiff really did so is no longer relevant. 18 460 U.S. at 715, 103 S.Ct. at 1481 (emphasis supplied). This emphasis on the entire record was, Chief Justice Rehnquist explicitly noted, a reiteration of the principles set forth in Burdine: 19 The plaintiff retains the burden of persuasion.... [H]e may succeed in this either directly by persuading the court that a discriminatory reason more likely motivated the employer or indirectly by showing that the employer's proffered explanation is unworthy of credence. 20 Burdine, 450 U.S. at 256, 101 S.Ct. at 1095 (quoted in Aikens, 460 U.S. at 716, 103 S.Ct. at 1482). Given the magistrate judge's opportunity to view the demeanor of the witnesses at trial and the inconsistencies in George Court's version of the events surrounding Mr. Starks' departure from George Court, we cannot conclude that the magistrate judge's finding of discrimination was clearly erroneous. It is unfortunate when a company like George Court, whose owners have made a special effort to participate in minority hiring programs, is determined to have violated Title VII. Yet the philosophies espoused by owners are not always practiced by their managers in the day-to-day affairs of a business. Because the magistrate judge's finding of discrimination is not clearly erroneous, we must affirm the finding of discrimination and the award of $2800 in backpay.
21 George Court also contests the magistrate judge's award of attorney's fees to Mr. Starks. This argument is based on the fact that Mr. Starks benefitted from court-appointed counsel because he proceeded in forma pauperis pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1915. Although Mr. Starks had no obligation to pay either attorney's fees or costs, Congress has provided that the district court may permit the prevailing party in a Title VII action to recover its costs. See 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e-5(k) (In any action or proceeding under this title the court, in its discretion, may allow the prevailing party, other than the Commission or the United States, a reasonable attorney's fee as part of the costs.). Moreover, the Supreme Court has recognized that the absence of a plaintiff's obligation to pay attorney's fees does not preclude an award of statutory fees in civil rights cases. See Blanchard v. Bergeron, 489 U.S. 87, 95, 109 S.Ct. 939, 945, 103 L.Ed.2d 67 (1989) (That a nonprofit legal services organization may contractually have agreed not to charge any fee of a civil rights plaintiff does not preclude the award of a reasonable fee to a prevailing party in a Sec. 1983 action ...) (emphasis in original). Under the circumstances of this case, the district court did not abuse its discretion by awarding attorney's fees. Thus, our review shifts to the amount of attorney's fees awarded by the district court. 22 The district court awarded Mr. Starks attorney's fees in the amount of $9,990.05. The court arrived at this figure by multiplying the $85 hourly rate of Mr. Starks' attorney by the number of hours he charged to the case (117.53). The district court found that Mr. Starks' attorney conducted the case in a restrained and economical manner. Aug. 9, 1990 District Court Order (R. 67) at 2. Indeed, George Court does not challenge as excessive either the time entries recorded by Mr. Starks' attorney or his hourly rate. Instead, George Court argues that the amount of attorney's fees recovered is unreasonable because it represents more than four times the amount of the judgment awarded to Mr. Starks. The Supreme Court, however, has noted that the value of civil rights litigation cannot be measured by the amount of money damages recovered. The Court thus has reject[ed] the notion that a civil rights action for damages constitutes nothing more than a private tort suit benefiting only the individual plaintiffs whose rights were violated. Unlike most private tort litigants, a civil rights plaintiff seeks to vindicate important civil and constitutional rights that cannot be valued solely in monetary terms. Blanchard, 489 U.S. at 94, 109 S.Ct. at 944. Considering the significant but unquantifiable value of successful civil rights suits, the modest financial recovery obtained for Mr. Starks, as well as the court's order that George Court reinstate Mr. Starks, the amount of attorney's fees awarded was reasonable.