Cases Under Review, Civil Rights: SCOTUS Will Review Whether Attorney’s Fees Are Available To A Civil Rights Plaintiff Obtaining A Preliminary Injunction Of Significance Before A Conclusive Merits Ruling Was Reached

Cert Was Granted On April 22, 2024 In A Fourth Circuit Case.

               In Lackey v. Stinnie, 77 F.4^th 200 (4^th Cir. 2023), the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal in an en banc opinion held that a civil rights plaintiff winning a preliminary injunction, but not securing a final judgment, might be a prevailing party entitled to attorney’s fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988(b).  We can now report that the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari on April 22, 2024 to consider these two issues:  (1) Whether a party must obtain a ruling that conclusively decides the merits in its favor, as opposed to merely predicting a likelihood of later success, to prevail on the permits under 42 U.S.C. § 1988; and (2) whether a party must obtain an enduring change in the parties’ legal relationship from a judicial act, as opposed to a non-judicial event that moots the case, to prevail under Section 1988.