Eddleman

MEMORANDUM **

Montana Right to Life Association (MRTL) appeals from the district court’s award of attorneys fees. After MRTL submitted an amended attorneys fees petition that purported to eliminate from the petition hours spent litigating unsuccessful claims, the district court further reduced the number of compensable hours by one-third. The district court did not give an explanation for the lodestar calculation that demonstrated that it was considering all the pertinent factors in awarding compensation for two-thirds of the requested hours. Nor did the district court acknowledge that the amended fees petition accounted for partial success or explain why any further reduction for that purpose was necessary. Instead, the district court stated only that it was reducing the number of compensable hours in light of the ratio of successful to unsuccessful claims.

The district court “has discretion in determining the amount of a fee award.... It remains important, however, for the district court to provide a concise but clear explanation of its reasons for the fee award.” Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 437 , 103 S.Ct. 1933 , 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983). Thus, Hensley “requir[es] the…