RICKLEY

Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988 , we hold that a successful civil rights plaintiff may recover a reasonable attorney’s fee for legal services performed by her attorney-spouse.

Background

Rebecca Rickley filed this federal civil rights action against the County of Los Angeles and individual County employees (collectively, the “County”), alleging violations of her constitutional rights to free speech and equal protection. She alleged that the County harassed her in retaliation for her complaints about the County’s failure to enforce building and safety codes against her Malibu neighbors.

Rickley and Natasha Roit are legally married and co-own property in Malibu where they both reside. Their home, as well as their neighbors’ homes, are located in an area prone to landslides. Since at least 2001, Rickley and Roit have been complaining to the County regarding two of their neighbors’ illegal construction and land use. Frustrated by the County’s failure to stop the violations, Rickley and Roit, as co-plaintiffs, brought a civil action against their neighbors. After that civil action, which resulted in a permanent injunction against the neighbors, Rickley and Roit continued to…