Sanchez v. City of Austin

Plaintiffs participated in the Occupy Wall Street protests in front of Austin City Hall. The City then started a policy under which it issued criminal-trespass notices to plaintiffs and other protestors. Plaintiffs filed suit against the City, alleging facial and as-appliec challenges to the policy under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief and damages. After bench trial, the district court entered an order declaring the policy unconstitutional on its face and enjoined the City from issuing the notices. The district court denied plaintiffs' motion for attorneys fees and expenses under 42 U.S.C. 1988 and plaintiffs appealed. The court reversed the denial of fees because plaintiffs were the prevailing party on their constitutional challenge. The district court abused its discretion when it relied on limited injury and limited success as special circumstances justifying a wholesale denial of fees. Even accepting the district court's consideration of the limited injury and limited scope of the injunction as special circumstances, the district court's factual support for those points is unsupported by record evidence. The court remanded for the district court to determine the amount of the award. View "Sanchez v. City of Austin" on Justia Law