Suggestions for Maximizing Fee Recovery Under “But For” Standard Pertaining to Prevailing Public Entities in Civil Rights Cases
In a July 22, 2011 post at PublicCEO.com, attorneys Gerry Knapton and Kim Karelis discuss the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision of Fox v. Vice, 2011 U.S. LEXIS 4182 (U.S. June 6, 2011), where a “but for” standard in awarding attorney’s fees to prevailing public entities in civil rights cases was adopted in cases involving both frivolous and nonfrivolous claims. Mr. Knapton is a well acknowledged expert in the area of fee audits and related attorney’s fees issues, and both gentlemen are partners at L.A.’s Ropers, Majeski, Kohn & Bentley.
Messrs. Knapton and Karelis have these tips for maximizing recovery under this “but for” standard: (1) the public entity must keep detailed billings allowing for apportionment; (2) no block billing or vague entries should be made; and (3) potential prevailing defendants should document the costs of retaining specialized defense counsel on “but for” claims of a non-standard nature.
Our discussion of Fox v. Vice can be found at the June 8, 2011 post.