November 9, 2009 Tentative Was to Deny $378,519 in Total Requested Fees.
In our category “In the News,” we have been following the costs and fees development in the Farnan-Corbett First Amendment controversy arising out of south Orange County. Here is the next development.
Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge James Selna of the Central District of California issued a 6-page tentative decision denying requested fees totaling $378,519 to the Capistrano Unified School District and Dr. Corbett (School Defendants, who asked for $154,781.50) and intervenor California Teachers Association (Union, which asked for $223,737.50) as the prevailing parties in the dispute.
The request was based on 42 U.S.C. section 1988(b), which allows an award of attorney’s fees against an unsuccessful civil rights plaintiff, but only where plaintiff’s claim was frivolous, unreasonable, or groundless or plaintiff continued to litigate after the claim clearly became so. (Thomas v. City of Tacoma, 410 F.3d 644, 647 (9th Cir. 2005).)
Judge Selna tentatively found that although School Defendants and Union prevailed, plaintiff’s claim was never frivolous as against Dr. Corbett. After all, he did prove one constitutional violation and was only spared liability due to the district judge’s application of the defense of qualified immunity. With regard to the School District, plaintiff did not prove his case but did present evidence that the District received complaints about Dr. Corbett’s teaching so as to show some basis for a civil rights claim. Union was not entitled to fees because, as an intervenor, it failed to show that its role was significant or nonduplicative of School Defendants’ efforts.
For more details on this ruling and the overall litigation, see Scott Martindale’s November 9, 2009 article “Judge tentatively denies awarding $378,519 to teacher’s defense team” at The Orange County Register website (with the article also having a link to Judge Selna’s written tentative decision).