Muckleshoot Tribe v. Puget Sound Power & Light Co., City of Auburn, Washington

REINHARDT, Circuit Judge:

In 1976, Congress passed the Civil Rights Attorneys’ Fees Awards Act (“Fees Act”), 42 U.S.C. § 1988. The Fees Act provides, in relevant part, that “the court, in its discretion, may allow the prevailing party, other than the United States, a reasonable attorney’s fee as part of the costs.” Prevailing plaintiffs are normally entitled to fees unless special circumstances render an award unjust. Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 429, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 1937, 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983). The definition of prevailing parties has been expanded to cover civil rights litigants who…