Opinion ID: 434899
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Whether Boudin Was the Prevailing Party

Text: 11 Boudin was the prevailing party in both the original litigation and the government's appeal. Her success in the district court action is obvious. As for the question of her success on the government's earlier appeal, this Court's decision in Hastings v. Maine-Endwell Central School District, 676 F.2d 893, 896-97 (2d Cir.1982), supports Boudin's contention that attorney's fees may be awarded under the EAJA to a party who has procured a dismissal of the appeal. 12 The government cites Hanrahan v. Hampton, 446 U.S. 754, 100 S.Ct. 1987, 64 L.Ed.2d 670 (1980), for the proposition that fees should not be awarded upon a procedural decision such as this. Br. for Appellants at 32. Hanrahan, however, only held that attorney's fees should be denied where the moving party had not prevailed on the merits of any of its claims. 446 U.S. at 758. That is not the case here. Instead, Boudin prevailed on the merits in the district court and this Court refused to vacate the district court's order. The original decision on which Boudin prevailed was left intact, making Boudin the prevailing party on appeal for the purposes of section 2412(d)(1). 13