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Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Law - More on: Lawyer in Kentucky schools case seeks fees, bonus

The SCOTUS ruling on June 28, 2007, where, per this Louisville Courier Journal story dated June 29th: "In a 5-4 decision, Chief Justice John Roberts said that by classifying students by race, the Louisville and Seattle school districts perpetuated unequal treatment and had failed to justify the use of race," has led to actions by the winning counsel in both cities to recover their "pro bono" fees.

See earlier ILB entries: "Attorney who represented Seattle parents in a race-based lawsuit aims to recover his pro bono legal costs," from July 2, 2007, and Sept. 8, 2007.

See "Lawyer in Kentucky schools case seeks fees, bonus" from July 29, 2007, and today's story from the LCJ, reported by Chris Kenning. Some quotes:

The Louisville attorney who helped overturn Jefferson County Public Schools' student-integration policy is asking a federal judge to order the district to pay him $750,000 in fees and bonuses.

Attorney Ted Gordon filed a request yesterday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky in Louisville that includes $228,022 in fees and court costs and a $521,977 bonus based on the difficulty, complexity and scope of the case. He is asking for a $400 hourly fee, saying he worked at least 560 hours on the case, excluding 50 hours of media time.

"It is critical for the court to award sufficient attorney fees in cases such as this one" so that lawyers continue to risk the loss of personal income to pursue civil-rights "cases that should be prosecuted," the filing said.

The fee request is less than the $1.8 million requested by attorneys representing Seattle school parents, whose lawsuit was decided June 28 in tandem with the Jefferson County case and together invalidated similar desegregation policies nationwide. * * *

The winning parties in civil-rights cases are typically allowed to recover attorneys' fees from the losing side, and a premium or bonus can be added for complex cases.

"A court will typically look at the rate, hours and both the quality of the work and the outcome," said Louisville attorney David Friedman, who has litigated many civil-rights cases.

Some courts have been "reluctant" to enhance fees, he said, but "it doesn't mean it can't be done."

David Vladeck, a law professor at Georgetown University and former director of the watchdog group Public Citizen, said the request seemed "excessive." He said the Seattle case was more complex procedurally; was argued before the full 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals; and had a longer factual record.

Further, he said, the U.S. government was on Gordon's side.

"He's entitled to a fee, but not a windfall," he said.

Courts elsewhere have approved some substantial awards.

Last year the Dover School District in Pennsylvania was forced to pay $1 million in legal fees to the American Civil Liberties Union and the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which successfully represented parents who sued the district for teaching the theory of intelligent design in ninth-grade biology classes.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 25, 2007 08:30 AM
Posted to General Law Related