Opinion ID: 729739
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Appeal From Attorneys' Fees Award

Text: 9 In December of 1991, defendants appealed the fee award. Defendants argued that the district court erred in considering contingency risk in calculating the lodestar figure and in applying a multiplier. This argument was based upon several post-award decisions. See City of Burlington v. Dague, 505 U.S. 557, 120 L. Ed. 2d 449, 112 S. Ct. 2638 (1992); Gates v. Deukmejian, 987 F.2d 1392 (9th Cir. 1992); Davis v. City and County of San Francisco, 976 F.2d 1536 (9th Cir. 1992), vacated in part on other grounds, 984 F.2d 345 (9th Cir. 1993). In Dague, the Supreme Court held that enhancement above the lodestar amount for contingency risk is not proper for fee awards under 42 U.S.C. 6972(e) or 33 U.S.C. 1365(d). Davis extended Dague to calculation of the lodestar itself, and Gates extended Dague to 1988 fee awards. We therefore vacated the attorneys' fees award and remanded for the district court to consider these cases. 10 Defendants also argued that the district court erred by awarding attorneys' fees for the ACLU-RFP work performed on behalf of plaintiffs GNA and Laurie Konwith, who, defendants maintained, did not have standing. We instructed the district court to consider the standing issue on remand.