Blum v. Stenson
- Decided
- March 21, 1984
- Docket
- 81-1374
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 7,642 timesNo negative treatment found in this library
What later courts said
- holding that reasonable fees in federal civil rights action are to be calculated according to prevailing market rates in relevant community — Isaac FORD, Et Al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. UNIROYAL PENSION PLAN, Defendant-Appellee (1998)
- holding that "`reasonable fees' under § 1988 are to be calculated according to the prevailing market rates in the relevant community" — Geier v. Sundquist (2004)
- holding that “ ‘reasonable fees’ under § 1988 are to be calculated according to the prevailing market rates in the relevant community” — Geier v. Sundquist (2004)
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
[*888] Justice Powell delivered the opinion of the Court.
Title 42 U. S. C. § 1988 (1976 ed., Supp. V) 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 initial estimate of a reasonable attorney’s fee is properly calculated by multiplying the number of hours reasonably expended on the litigation times a reasonable hourly rate. Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U. S. 424 (1983). Adjustments to that fee then may be made as necessary in the particular case. The [*889] two issues in this case are whether Congress intended fee awards to nonprofit legal service organizations to be calculated according to cost or to prevailing market rates, and whether, and under what circumstances, an upward adjustment of an award based on prevailing market rates is appropriate under § 1988.
I
Statutes cited
- 42 U.S.C. § 1988
- 42 U.S.C. § 1983
- 42 U.S.C. § 1381
- 42 U.S.C. § 1396-1396k
- 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5
Cite this
Blum v. Stenson, 465 U.S. 886 (1984)Read the full opinion
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