Cases Under Review: SCOTUS Grants Certiorari Petition On Eighth Circuit Decision Reversing Fee Award Against EEOC Because Dismissal Was Not On The Merits

 

Standard For Fee Recovery Under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(k) At Issue, With Cert Petition Saying Different Thinking In Fourth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits.

     On December 4, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in CRST Van Expedited, Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), 774 F.3d 1169 (8^th Cir. 2015), cert. granted, No. 14-1375 (Dec. 1, 2015). In that case, the Eight Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a $4.6 million attorney’s fees award against the EEOC in a case where the district court granted summary judgment to the defense based on EEOC’s failure to satisfy pre-suit investigation, reasonable care, and conciliation obligations, with the district court’s fee award based on 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(k). The Eighth Circuit did so because it held that a dismissal on the merits was required. In the certiorari petition, the Eighth Circuit was argued to be at odds with contrary decisions from the Fourth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits allowing for a fee recovery against the EEOC based on unreasonable conduct rather than a merits ruling. Some SCOTUS commentators are expecting a decision by mid- to late 2016.