Opinion ID: 2314184
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Prevailing Party Requirement

Text: The general rule is that a prevailing party ordinarily is entitled to recover attorneys' fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988 unless special circumstances would render such an award unjust. Blanchard v. Bergeron, 489 U.S. 87, 89 n.1, 109 S.Ct. 939, 942 n. 1, 103 L.Ed.2d 67 (1989) (citing Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc., 390 U.S. 400, 402, 88 S.Ct. 964, 966-67, 19 L.Ed.2d 1263 (1968)). [3] Therefore, in passing on a petition for attorneys' fees, the Court must begin by determining whether the petitioner prevailed. Plaintiffs are said to prevail when they succeed on any significant issue in litigation which achieves some of the benefit [they] sought in bringing the suit. Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 433, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 1939, 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983) (quoting Nadeau v. Helgemoe, 581 F.2d 275, 278-79 (1st Cir. 1978)). That benefit need not be achieved though a formal judgment. A plaintiff may be deemed a prevailing party if its law suit prompted the defendant to provide the relief sought under the aegis of a settlement or otherwise. Nadeau, 581 F.2d at 279. In either event, what is required is more than a purely technical or de minimis victory. A plaintiff must be able to point to a resolution of the dispute which changes the legal relationship between itself and the defendant. Texas State Teachers Ass'n v. Garland Indep. School Dist., 489 U.S. 782, 792, 109 S.Ct. 1486, 1493, 103 L.Ed.2d 866 (1989). When a case is actually litigated and a plaintiff does not win on any significant issue, that plaintiff is not a prevailing party within the meaning of § 1988. Pearson v. Fair, 935 F.2d 401, 415 (1st Cir.1991) (citing Langton v. Johnston, 928 F.2d 1206, 1224 (1st Cir. 1991)). Obviously, dismissal of a plaintiff's claim prior to trial prevents that plaintiff from being deemed a prevailing party. See Perkins v. Cross, 728 F.2d 1099, 1100 (8th Cir.1984); Jordan v. Dorsey, 587 F.Supp. 282, 287 (E.D.Pa.1984). The fact that the dismissal is voluntary does not change the result, at least where there is no quid pro quo concession by the defendant. See Zabkowicz v. West Bend Co., 789 F.2d 540, 552 (7th Cir.1986). In this case, it is clear that Nunes is the only plaintiff who can claim to be a prevailing party. The other plaintiffs did not achieve any of the benefits they sought. Their claims were either dismissed unconditionally or resulted in judgments in favor of the defendants. It is equally clear that the only defendants that Nunes can claim to have prevailed against are Stone and Benjamin because they are the only ones against whom she obtained judgments. Stone and Benjamin argue that Nunes did not prevail against them. Although they acknowledge Nunes' success on Count V, they point out that judgment was entered in their favor as to the remaining counts. That observation is inapposite. As already noted, a plaintiff need not achieve total victory in order to be deemed a prevailing party. All that is required is success on a significant issue that achieves an appreciable measure of the relief sought. Nadeau, 581 F.2d at 278-79. Thus, when a plaintiff asserts multiple claims but does not succeed on all of them, the relevant inquiry in determining whether that plaintiff prevailed is whether the claims successfully asserted accomplished a significant purpose. In this case, the Court finds that Nunes did succeed on a significant issue and achieved an appreciable measure of the relief sought against Stone and Benjamin. She obtained a judgment finding them liable for sex discrimination and awarding her punitive damages. Consequently, she is a prevailing party within the meaning of § 1988 even though she failed on her other claims.