District of Columbia v. Patterson

In my view, plaintiff succeeded on a “ ‘significant issue in litigation which achieve[d] some of the benefit [she] sought in bringing suit;”’ therefore, she is a prevailing party within the meaning of the Civil Rights Attorney’s Fees Award Act of 1976, 90 Stat. 2641, 42 U.S.C. § 1988 and may be awarded attorney fees thereunder. Texas Teachers Ass’n. v. Garland School Dist., 489 U.S. 782, 791-92, 109 S.Ct. 1486, 1493, 103 L.Ed.2d 866 (1989) (quoting Nadeau v. Helgemoe, 581 F.2d 275, 278-79 (1st Cir.1978)); accord, Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 433, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 1939, 76 L.Ed.2d 40…