After their civil rights case against the City of White Plains was settled for $30,000, the three plaintiffs sought, and were awarded, attorneys' fees by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in the amount of $290,997.94.
On appeal, White Plains contended that the award of fees was improper, because the settlement had intended to cover all costs, and that the amount sought was "disproportionate" to the results ultimately secured by the plaintiffs in the case.
But the Second Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed. Since attorneys' fees are an independent basis for relief, and the judgment didn't include or limit the recovery of those costs, such additional damages were recoverable. And even though the fees were higher than the underlying sum the plaintiffs received, the Appellate Court "rejected" a proportionality standard--particularly in the absence of any objection as to the rates charged or the trial judge's calculation of the total found to be due.
Cha-ching!
To view a copy of the Second Circuit's decision, please use this link: Barbour v. City of White Plains