Ninth Circuit Reverses District Court’s Denial of Fees to Settling Plaintiff.
In La Asociacion de Trabajadores de Lake Forest v. National Day Laborer Organizing Network, Case No. 08-56564 (9th Cir. Oct. 22, 2010) (for publication), plaintiff reached a settlement agreement with defendants over the enforcement of restrictions on day laborers soliciting work on public sidewalks. The settlement agreement required defendants to adhere to policies respecting day laborers and their First Amendment rights, relief plaintiff sought in its complaint on behalf of the day laborers. However, the district court denied plaintiff’s request for an award of attorney’s fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988(b) (the federal civil rights statute). The Ninth Circuit reversed, determining that the judicially enforceable settlement agreement did materially alter the relationships between the parties such that plaintiff was a prevailing party entitled to an award of attorney’s fees.