Civil Rights: Prevailing Civil Rights Plaintiffs In Significantly Pared Down Police Raid Case, Gaining Damages Of About $5,400, Properly Denied Fees Altogether

Based On Limited Success And Inflated Billings, $2.4-3.8 Million Fee Requests Did Not Resonate With Trial Or Appellate Courts.

            Guillory v. Hill, Case No. G054027 (4^th Dist., Div. 3 May 31, 2019) (unpublished) dealt with a civil rights case brought by plaintiffs after a police raid of a mansion in the aftermath of a Halloween party with about 1,000 partygoers.  Earlier in the case, it was pared down to one solitary defendant and with only one civil rights claim surviving after a directed verdict was reversed.  At a subsequent trial, some plaintiffs were awarded damages of about $5,400 although seeking damages in pleadings northward of $1 million (as well as punitive damages).  Plaintiffs then moved for recovery of attorney’s fees of $3.8 million under a pro-plaintiff fee-shifting statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1988.  The lower court wanted briefing on an inflated billing concern, with plaintiffs lowering their fee request to $2.4 million.  Based on limited success and inflated billings, the lower court awarded nothing to plaintiffs.

            The 4/3 DCA, in a 3-0 opinion authored by Justice Aronson, affirmed.  Limited success and inflated billings present special concerns even in statutorily-mandated or pro-plaintiff fee situations, with the record not showing any error based on the sequence of events and plaintiffs’ failure to apportion unsuccessful work from successful work in light of the matter getting pared down significantly along the way.