Opinion ID: 479002
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Sugar's

Text: 55 Snohomish County challenges the district court's award of $2,948.75 in attorney's fees to Sugar's. 56 The County challenges the hourly rate set by the district court. Sugar's requested $125 per hour. The district court set the rate at $100 per hour for in-court work and $75 per hour for out-of-court work. The County contends that the hourly rate should have been $65, but has not shown the prevailing market rates for similar service (civil rights suits) by lawyers of reasonably comparable skill and reputation would be $65 or that the fee set by the court was unreasonable. See Blum v. Stenson, 465 U.S. 886, 104 S.Ct. 1541, 79 L.Ed.2d 891 (1984). The district court did not abuse its discretion in setting the rate. Nor did the court err in finding that Sugar's was the prevailing party. 57 We remand, however, because it appears that the district court may have awarded fees for claims on which Sugar's did not prevail. 58 Sugar's sought a permanent injunction against enforcement of the entire ordinance, expressly challenging eight sections. The district court enjoined enforcement of three. Given this, the district court should have made clear that it had considered the relationship between the extent of success and the amount of the fee award, Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983), before awarding the entire amount of fees requested.