Hensley v. Eckerhart
- Decided
- May 16, 1983
- Docket
- 81-1244
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 17,202 timesSuperseded by statute (verified)Possible negative treatment: superseded by statute, abrogated on other grounds, abrogated in part on other grounds (2 of 63 verified; none is a verified overruling) · Verlo v. City and County of Denver, CO
What later courts said
- recognizing that while “no precise rule or formula” exists for such determinations a fee request “should not result in a second major litigation” — Brandau v. Brandau (2008)
- holding that courts should not award fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 to plaintiffs' lawyers who achieve "only partial or limited success" — Huebner v. Midland Credit Mgmt., Inc. (2018)
- holding that the same standards are “generally applicable in all cases in which Congress has authorized an award of fees to a ‘prevailing party’ ” — Hugee v. Kimso Apartments, LLC (2012)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
[*426] Justice Powell delivered the opinion of the Court.
Title 42 U. S. C. § 1988 provides that in federal civil rights actions “the court, in its discretion, may allow the prevailing party, other than the United States, a reasonable attorney’s fee as part of the costs.” The issue in this case is whether a partially prevailing plaintiff may recover an attorney’s fee for legal services on unsuccessful claims.
I — I
Statutes cited
Cite this
Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424 (1983)Read the full opinion
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