Michael Romberg Debra Romberg v. Robert Nichols Dennis Lazzari Hugh Lloyd Benito Jurado Thomas Laing

When a jury returns a plaintiffs verdict in a civil rights case in the amount of one dollar, must the court also award the plaintiff attorney’s fees?

I

In late December 1983, Michael and Debra Romberg filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against several Los Angeles sheriffs deputies and against the County of Los Angeles itself. The Rombergs alleged, among other things, that the deputies had violated their constitutional rights by not obtaining a search warrant before entering their home in response to a call about a domestic disturbance in 1982. The Rombergs sought $2 million in general punitive damages, along with attorney fees and costs. After trial, a jury found in favor of the Rombergs, but only awarded $1 to each of them. In his closing argument, Stephen Yagman, the Rombergs’ attorney, informed the jury that, in his view, his clients were entitled to damages “ ‘in some sum like one dollar.’ ”

The Rombergs, asserting their status as prevailing parties under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 , sought an award of attorney’s fees in the amount of $45,000. The district court granted the Rombergs’ motion, but only in the amount of $5,000.

The deputies appealed, arguing that even the reduced award…