Supreme Court to Decide If States Can Avoid Plaintiff Attorney Fees

The Supreme Court recently granted Virginia’s request to consider if a plaintiff who wins a preliminary injunction but fails to secure a final judgment is entitled to be awarded attorney’s fees. If the court ends up ruling against Virginia, it could be a boost for citizens suing governments in civil rights actions. Led by Georgia, 19 states supported Virginia’s bid to have the case heard. In a brief, the states said they need “clear and predictable rules for when they might be exposed to such awards” so they can administer government in an orderly way. The federal courts of appeal have not supplied “clear, predictable rules for answering the question of fee eligibility presented by this case[.]”...