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Attorney Fees Blocked In NY Civil Rights Case

By John Caher
December 27, 2004

[Editor's Note: A&FP's December edition was in press when the NY Court of Appeals ruled. See A&FP's November edition for prior coverage of the Farrar standard and this case.]

Lawyers who prevail in a civil rights case but win only nominal damages are generally not entitled to attorney fees, the Court of Appeals has ruled in a groundbreaking opinion.

For the first time, the court embraced the so-called Farrar standard and found that attorneys who win token awards in civil rights actions have “prevailed” for fee purposes, but that fee awards are “rarely … appropriate unless the litigation served a significant public purpose.”

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