Martin v. Heckler

• Citation: 773 F.2d 1145
• Decision Date: 15 October 1985
• Docket Number: No. 83-3058,83-3058
• Parties: Inez MARTIN, et al., Plaintiffs, Henri Mae King, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Margaret HECKLER, et al., Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

Page 1145

773 F.2d 1145

Inez MARTIN, et al., Plaintiffs, Henri Mae King, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Margaret HECKLER, et al., Defendants-Appellees.

No. 83-3058.

United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.

Oct. 15, 1985.

R.A. Culbertson and Barry C. Laboda, Orlando, Fla., for plaintiffs/plaintiff-appellant.

Gwenda J. Kelley, Baltimore, Md., Claire D. Dryfuss, Dept. of Health and Rehabilitation Services, Tallahassee, Fla., and Robert W. Genzman, Asst. U.S. Atty., Orlando, Fla., for defendants-appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Before GODBOLD, Chief Judge, and RONEY, TJOFLAT, HILL, FAY, VANCE, KRAVITCH, JOHNSON, HENDERSON, HATCHETT, ANDERSON and CLARK, Circuit Judges.

RONEY, Circuit Judge:

This appeal presents the question of whether plaintiffs are entitled to attorney's fees against federal and state defendants pursuant to the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Awards Act, 42 U.S.C.A. Sec. 1988 and the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C.A. Sec. 2412.

The district court, without passing upon whether the statutes would otherwise authorize attorney's fees, refused to make such an award on the alternative grounds that the plaintiffs were not prevailing parties, special circumstances existed which would have made an award unjust, and co-counsel waived his right to fees. A panel of this Court decided that the plaintiffs were prevailing parties, but that special circumstances foreclosed an attorney's fee award. Martin v. Heckler, 733 F.2d 1499 (11th Cir.1984). We granted rehearing en banc principally to consider whether there were special circumstances permitting denial of a fee award. Deciding that point contrary to the district court and the panel decision, we make the following four holdings, vacate the judgment, and remand the case to the district court for further consideration: first, the plaintiffs were prevailing parties within the meaning of the two attorney's fees statutes; second, there were no special circumstances which would preclude the award of fees under either statute for legal services up to the time of the preliminary hearing in the district court; third, co-counsel for plaintiffs did not waive his right to attorney's fees by his agreement to represent plaintiffs without fees; and fourth, as to the federal defendant, the Equal Access to Justice Act does not authorize a fee award under section 2412(b) unless the federal defendant is sued to enforce one of the specific statutory sections referred to in 42 U.S.C.A. Sec. 1988, and fees may not be awarded for analogous actions.

We borrow copiously from Judge Dyer's panel opinion for a statement of the case and the decision that the plaintiffs were prevailing parties. On July 29, 1981, the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services (HRS) changed its Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) manual to prohibit aid payments to the natural, non-legal father and his relatives unless paternity had been established by judicial process. This change was prompted by a Federal Action Transmittal issued by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on May 5, 1981. After an administrative hearing, by order of September 17, 1981, a plaintiff in this suit was denied AFDC benefits because of the change in the Florida Manual.

On November 13, 1981 an action was brought on behalf of a class of applicants and recipients of AFDC who are related to dependent children and the dependent children whose AFDC benefits had been denied or terminated solely on the ground that paternity had not been established in a state court action.

On November 16, 1981, plaintiffs moved for a preliminary injunction. On December 3, 1981, the district court deferred ruling on the motion based upon representations by counsel for the state agency that it would rescind the new policy and reinstate all applicants and recipients who had been affected by the new policy with retroactive payment for all lost benefits. Counsel for HHS verified that this action would not result in any loss of federal funding under the AFDC program. On January 18, 1982, HRS and HHS filed answers in which the state defendant alleged that upon being assured by HHS that Florida could return to its pre-July 1981 policy regarding relatives of the putative father without suffering diminution in federal financial participation, it had, on December 18, 1981, reinstated all AFDC benefits retroactively. On a suggestion of lack of jurisdiction by reason of mootness, objected to by plaintiffs, the district court dismissed the action as moot.

Subsequently, plaintiffs moved for an award of attorney's fees under the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Awards Act, 42 U.S.C.A. Sec. 1988, and the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C.A. Sec. 2412. The district court denied the motion for the reasons above stated. This appeal followed.

I. Prevailing Parties

The threshold question that must be addressed is whether plaintiffs are prevailing parties where, as here, the statutory claims are mooted by defendants' remedial action subsequent to the lawsuit. There is nothing in the record to show that either the state or federal defendants had done anything toward reinstating benefits or giving them retroactive effect until after suit was filed. On the contrary, on the occasions when the plaintiffs contacted the state agency, they were told that the state could not withdraw the challenged policy because of the Federal Action Transmittal. This position was reaffirmed by a hearing officer of the state agency. An employee of HHS confirmed that the policy change by the state was necessary. We have searched the record in vain to find anything that would show that the plaintiffs' action was not necessary to bring about a change in the policy.

In these circumstances we have no doubt that plaintiffs are prevailing parties:

Nothing in the language of Sec. 1988 conditions the District Court's power to award fees on full litigation of the issues or on a judicial determination that the plaintiff's rights have been violated. Moreover, the Senate Report expressly stated that "for purposes of the award of counsel fees, parties may be considered to have prevailed when they vindicate rights through a consent judgment or without formally obtaining relief." S.Rep. No. 94-1011, p. 5 (1976); [1976 U.S.Code Cong. & Ad.News 5908, 5912.]

Maher v. Gagne, 448 U.S. 122, 129, 100 S.Ct. 2570, 2574, 65 L.Ed.2d 653 (1980). "For example, a party may be considered to be 'prevailing' if the litigation successfully terminates by a consent decree, an out-of-court settlement, a voluntary cessation of the unlawful practice by the defendant, or other mooting of the case where the plaintiff has vindicated his right." Doe v. Busbee, 684 F.2d 1375, 1379 (11th Cir.1982). This is true even where the remedial action moots the lawsuit before trial and the plaintiff voluntarily dismisses the suit. Fields v. City of Tarpon Springs, 721 F.2d 318, 321 (11th Cir.1983).

The prevailing party test is "whether he or she has received substantially the relief requested or has been successful on the central issue," Watkins v. Mobile Housing Board, 632 F.2d 565, 567 (5th Cir. Unit B 1980), or, stated another way, whether "plaintiffs' lawsuit was a catalyst motivating defendants to provide the primary relief sought in a manner desired by litigation." Robinson v. Kimbrough, 652 F.2d 458, 465 (5th Cir.1981).

We are unimpressed with the argument that plaintiffs' victory does not represent the vindication of plaintiffs' civil rights because the litigation was unnecessary. The record simply does not bear this out. Plaintiffs "prevailed" within the context of section 1988 as to both the state and federal defendants. We therefore disagree with the district court's finding that plaintiffs were not prevailing parties.

II. Special Circumstances

Although neither 42 U.S.C.A. Sec. 1988 nor 28 U.S.C.A. Sec. 2412(b) specifically so provides, it is accepted jurisprudence that federal statutes which permit an award of attorney's fees to prevailing parties in selected litigation are subject to a special circumstances provision. Attorney's fees may be denied where "special circumstances would render such an award unjust." Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 429, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 1937, 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983) (citing Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc., 390 U.S. 400, 402, 88 S.Ct. 964, 966, 19 L.Ed.2d 1263 (1968) (per curiam)); Dowdell v. City of Apopka, 698 F.2d 1181, 1189 (11th Cir.1983); Riddell v. National Democratic Party, 624 F.2d 539, 543-44 (5th Cir.1980); S.Rep. No. 94-1011, 94th Cong., 2d Sess. 5, reprinted in 1976 U.S.Code Cong. & Ad.News 5908, 5912.

The district courts retain a measure of discretion in applying the special circumstances exception, a doctrine founded in equitable concepts. Although no rigid rules have been developed to guide the decision as to when this exception should result in the denial of fees to a prevailing party, some principles have developed or are unquestioned, creating a framework within which such decisions should be made.

Because the statutes here involved do not expressly state the "special circumstances" exception, the judicially imposed provision should be narrowly construed so as not to interfere with the congressional purpose in passing such statutes. A principal purpose of such statutes is to encourage civil rights enforcement by plaintiffs acting as "private attorneys general." See, e.g., New York Gaslight Club, Inc. v. Carey, 447 U.S. 54, 63, 100 S.Ct. 2024, 2030, 64 L.Ed.2d 723 (1980); Dowdell, 698 F.2d at 1189. Where the defendants are both state and federal governments and both defendants oppose plaintiffs' suit, "the plaintiffs are not merely 'private attorneys general', they are the only attorneys general." Smith v. Puett, 506 F.Supp. 134, 146 (M.D.Tenn.1980) (substantially identical AFDC policy change struck down and fees awarded under section 1988...