- Court: United States Supreme Court
- Area(s) of Law: Remedies
- Date Filed: November 5, 2012
- Case #: 12-168
- Judge(s)/Court Below: Per Curiam
Petitioner appealed after the district court granted his motion for summary judgment and issued a permanent injunction against Respondent for violating Petitioner鈥檚 First Amendment rights but refused to award attorney鈥檚 fees because he was not a 鈥減revailing party鈥 as defined in 42 USC 搂1988.
The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed, but the Supreme Court reversed, stating that Petitioner was a prevailing party because the district court鈥檚 judgment materially altered the legal relationship between the parties. The Court vacated the judgment and remanded with instructions to award Petitioner reasonable attorney鈥檚 fees provided that there were not 鈥渟pecial circumstances [that] would render such an award unjust.鈥