Opinion ID: 449732
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Denial of Monsanto's Motion for Attorneys' Fees.

Text: 27 After the jury returned its verdict and the magistrate entered judgment, Monsanto filed a motion for an award of reasonable attorneys' fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1988, which the magistrate denied. Monsanto contends that the court abused its discretion in denying this motion because the weight of the evidence established that Robinson's suit was frivolous and vexatious. In support of this contention, Monsanto asserts that Robinson brought suit without proof of purposeful discrimination or that he was treated differently than similarly situated white persons. In addition, Monsanto submits that Robinson's suit constituted a deliberate exploitation of the civil rights laws. We disagree. 28 The award of attorneys' fees lies within the sound discretion of the trial court. Obin v. District No. 9 of the Int'l Ass'n of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, 651 F.2d 574, 586 (8th Cir.1981). An award of attorneys' fees to a prevailing defendant in a civil rights suit is warranted only if the court finds that the plaintiff's claim was frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation, or if the action was brought in bad faith. Id. at 577. In deciding whether to grant such a motion, the Supreme Court has cautioned that it is important that a district court resist the understandable temptation to engage in post hoc reasoning by concluding that, because a plaintiff did not ultimately prevail, his action must have been unreasonable or without foundation. Christiansburg Garment Co. v. EEOC, 434 U.S. 412, 421-22, 98 S.Ct. 694, 700-01, 54 L.Ed.2d 648 (1978). 29 The trial of Robinson's action lasted five days. The magistrate denied both Monsanto's and Robinson's motions for a directed verdict, indicating that the case had sufficient merit to proceed to the jury. The court found, with respect to the Title VII claim, that in four of the years in which Robinson was not promoted (1977 -1980), his performance was rated satisfactory or better, and white employees with comparable ratings were promoted. The court also found that Monsanto's personnel director wrote a confidential memo to a Monsanto attorney in 1979 describing Robinson as a black employee who was active in the National Association of Black Accountants and who was close to other black employees. Both of these findings indicate that Robinson had some factual basis for his claims. Finally, in denying the motion for attorneys' fees, the magistrate concluded that the record did not clearly establish that Robinson's claim was brought frivolously, unreasonably, or in bad faith. We conclude, therefore, that the court properly denied Monsanto's motion for attorneys' fees. 30 For the reasons set forth above, the judgment of the district court is affirmed.