Opinion ID: 587012
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Prospective Nature of the Remedy

Text: 21 Appellee further argues that because the court did not order Great Dane to initiate any further action with respect to the specific incidents of racial harassment out of which Ruffin's lawsuit arose, such as the 1987 noose incident, the plaintiff was not the prevailing party for purposes of 42 U.S.C. § 1988. This argument implies that the prospective nature of the relief obtained by the plaintiff makes such relief an inadequate predicate for the award of attorney's fees, and, in essence, suggests that as a general matter injunctive relief, which is by its very nature prospective, could not provide an adequate basis for an attorney's fees award under 42 U.S.C. § 1988. 22 Appellee's contention, of course, is patently wrong. In Crowder v. Housing Authority of the City of Atlanta, 908 F.2d 843 (11th Cir.1990), for example, this court approved an award of attorney's fees to a group of senior citizens who had successfully sought an injunction that would allow them to hold Bible study meetings and to post notices of such meetings in their public housing complex. The court issued the requested injunction, which put into place specific detailed procedures that guaranteed the plaintiffs access to meeting space and bulletin board access. Crowder, 908 F.2d at 849. 23 Although the relief in this case does not reach the level of specificity reached by the injunction issued in Crowder, in both cases the court used its injunctive powers to address situations which had previously resulted in violations of the plaintiffs' rights, and to mandate the implementation of procedures that would ensure against the recurrence of such violations. The fact that, as in Crowder, specific instances of misconduct by the defendants were not addressed by the court's injunction is of no moment. 4 Where, as here, injunctive relief is requested by a plaintiff and granted by the district court, the accompanying failure of the court to provide retrospective relief in the form of compensatory damages does not negate the court's use of its authority to mandate Great Dane's increased attention and improved responses to jobsite racism, and to provide Ruffin with a remedy in the event increased vigilance is not forthcoming. See also Sanchez v. City of Miami Beach, 720 F.Supp. 974 (S.D.Fla.1989) (Title VII plaintiff entitled to attorney's fees after having been granted injunctive relief on her claims of sexual harassment).