Cleopatra DeLeon v. Greg Abbott

I agree that the bulk of the fee award should be affirmed. However, the district court awarded fees for tasks that are not, in my view, compensable. The majority opinion erroneously affirms the award for these non-compensable tasks, and in so doing it ignores our precedent and creates at least one, and arguably more, circuit splits. Because I would remand for the district court to exclude fees based on non-compensable tasks, I respectfully dissent.

I

Section 1988 authorizes district courts to award a “prevailing party” its “reasonable attorney’s fee[s].” 42 U.S.C. § 1988(b). Plaintiffs sought…