Victor Barrios v. California Interscholastic Federation California Interscholastic Federation Opinion Southern Section

Plaintiff-Appellant Victor Barrios (“Barrios”) sued Defendants-Appellees California Interscholastic Federation (“CIF”) and California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section (“CIFSS”) for discrimination claims arising under federal and state law. After entering into a settlement agreement, Barrios moved for attorneys fees and costs as the “prevailing party.” The district court denied Barrios’ motion. Barrios timely filed this appeal, arguing that he is entitled to reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs under both federal and state law. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we reverse.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Victor Barrios is an assistant baseball coach for Westminster High School, part of the Huntington Beach Union School District. Westminster High School is a member of both the GIF and CIFSS. Barrios has been paraplegic since 1992. As of 1999, he had coached high school baseball from an athletic wheelchair for four consecutive seasons in the CIFSS league. During games, Barrios’ responsibilities included acting as a first or third base coach, which required him to be in the coach’s box just outside the baseline to interact with his players, and deciding when to make…