Gary v. Spires

Plaintiffs, Vera E. Gary et al., appeal an award of attorney’s fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 1 to defendants J. Fred Spires and *773several merchants whom he represented. The allowance followed plaintiffs’ unsuccessful suit against Spires et al. in the Federal District Court for South Carolina for the abuse of process, allegedly amounting to an abrogation of their civil rights, 42 U.S.C. § 1983.2 Two months after the dismissal of plaintiffs’ action and the expiration of the appeal period, the Court passed the fee order. We reverse.

The complaint had charged that Spires, as the administrator of a…