FOX v. VICE

No. 10-114.

131 S.Ct. 2205 (2011)

563 U.S. 826

180 L.Ed.2d 45

Ricky D. FOX, Petitioner, v. Judy Ann VICE, as executrix of the Estate of Billy Ray Vice, et al.

Supreme Court of United States.

Decided June 6, 2011.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

E. Joshua Rosenkranz, New York, NY, for petitioner.

Mark T. Stancil, Washington, DC, for respondents.

J. Steven Broussard, Randall E. Hart, Broussard & Hart, LLC, Lake Charles, LA, E. Joshua Rosenkranz, Counsel of Record, Jessica S. Pers, Michael K. Gottlieb, Orrick, Herrington, Sutcliffe LLP, New York, NY, for Petitioner.

Toby J. Heytens, Daniel R. Ortiz, University of Virginia School of Law Supreme Court, Litigation Clinic, Charlottesville, VA, Counsel for Respondents.

J. Mark Miller, Joseph B. Stamey, Stamey & Miller, LLC, Natchitoches, LA, for Respondent the Town of Vinton.

Mark T. Stancil, Counsel of Record, Robbins, Russell, Englert, Orseck, Untereiner & Sauber LLP, Washington, DC, Counsel for Respondents.

Christopher P. Ieyoub, Kendrick J. Guidry, Plauche, Smith & Nieset, LLC, Lake Charles, LA, for Respondent Billy Ray Vice.

John P. Elwood, Vinson & Elkins LLP, Washington, DC, for Respondents.


Justice KAGAN delivered the opinion of the Court.

Federal law authorizes a court to award a reasonable attorney's fee to the prevailing party in certain civil rights cases. See 42 U.S.C. § 1988. We have held that a defendant may receive such an award if the plaintiff's suit is frivolous. In this case, the plaintiff asserted both frivolous and non-frivolous claims. We hold today that a court may grant reasonable fees to the defendant in this circumstance, but...

Let's get started

Leagle.com

Welcome to the leading source of independent legal reporting
Sign on now to see your case.
Or view more than 10 million decisions and orders.

  • Updated daily.
  • Uncompromising quality.
  • Complete, Accurate, Current.

Listed below are the cases that are cited in this Featured Case. Click the citation to see the full text of the cited case. Citations are also linked in the body of the Featured Case.

Cited Cases

  • No Cases Found

Listed below are those cases in which this Featured Case is cited. Click on the case name to see the full text of the citing case.

Citing Cases