Rabbi Samuel Teitelbaum, Larry and Louise Diehl v. Theodore Sorenson, Dba/waitwell Nursing Home

This appeal is from a district court denial of an attorneys fees motion brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 (1976).

In March 1979, Appellant, a public interest law firm, brought suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1976) against Appellee, a nursing home operator. Appellant alleged that Appellee abridged Appellant’s First Amendment rights by refusing it access to residents at Appellee’s nursing home. Appellant obtained a permanent injunction directing Appellee to grant Appellant access to the facility. The district court, however, denied Appellant’s motion for attorneys fees, brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 (1976). The district court based the denial on two grounds: (1) the case was one of first impression; and (2) the Appellee had acted in good faith in denying Appellant access to the nursing home.

The Civil Rights Attorney’s Fees Awards Act of 1976, 42 U.S.C. § 1988 (1976) (“Attorney’s Fees Act”), provides in part:

Fee denials under the Act are reviewed under an “abuse of discretion” standard. See Sethy v. Alameda County Water District, 602 F.2d 894, 897 (9th Cir. 1979), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 1046 , 100 S.Ct. 734 , 62 L.Ed.2d 731 (1980). Fees, however, should be awarded to a prevailing…