Opinion ID: 418106
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Denial of Fees for Time Spent Litigating Fees

Text: 4 In completely denying plaintiffs' fees for time spent litigating the fee question after the consent decree, the district court followed two rationales. First, the court construed the consent decree, which provided that [i]n determining attorney's fees the court will be guided by principles outlined by the Fifth Circuit [in] Johnson v. Georgia Highway Express, [Inc.], 488 F.2d 714 ( [5th Cir.] 1974), as precluding fees for time litigating fees because Johnson did not contemplate the award of such fees. This is simply a misreading of Johnson. That case concerned the factors a court should consider in determining the proper amount of an award. It did not concern the stages of litigation for which any attorney's fees may be awarded. Thus the consent decree's reference to Johnson, we believe, had nothing to do with the propriety of awarding fees for litigating over fees. Such an award is authorized by the case law, Johnson v. Mississippi, 606 F.2d 635, 637-39 (5th Cir.1979), and plaintiffs did not waive this right. 5 The second ground given by the district court for denying any award of fees for time spent litigating the fees question, in essence that plaintiffs were completely to blame for the additional litigation, is not supported by the record or the law. Defendants did not make an offer of judgment until nearly eight months after the consent decree became final. Plaintiffs were entitled to a hearing to resolve any disputed issue of fact. King v. McCord, 621 F.2d 205, 206 (5th Cir.1980). Assuming their claim was in good faith, which cannot be denied on this record, they cannot be penalized for exercising that right. 6