Vieira

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

NICHOLAS K. VIEIRA, Case No. 18-cv-05431-VC

Plaintiff,

ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR

v. ATTORNEY’S FEES

COUNTY OF SACRAMENTO, et al., Re: Dkt. No. 123 Defendants.

After successfully moving for summary judgment, the County of Sacramento requests an award of attorney’s fees totaling more than $90,000. A defendant (like the County) that defeats a claim brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 can recover its attorney’s fees “only where the suit was vexatious, frivolous, or brought to harass or embarrass the defendant.” Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 429 n.2 (1983); see 42 U.S.C. § 1988. As the motion correctly notes, Nicholas Vieira’s second amended (and ultimate) complaint included a frivolous claim—specifically, a claim purporting to hold the County vicariously liable under section 1983 for the acts of its employee, Joseph Zalec. Vicarious liability of this sort is squarely foreclosed by nearly a half century of Supreme Court precedent. The law really couldn’t be any clearer: “[A] local government may not be sued under § 1983 for an injury inflicted solely by its employees or agents.”…