Doe v. Board of Educ. of the Gates/Chili Cent. Sch. Dist.

No. 91-CV-6209L (W.D.N.Y. June 2, 1995) ; Clearinghouse Number: 50752

Description

Child with Physical Disability and Excluded from Athletics by School Is Awarded over $37,000 in Fees`

Abstract

The district court has awarded plaintiffs attorney fees in this class action against defendant school district’s exclusion of children with disabilities from extracurricular activities solely because of their physical impairments. Defendant acted in accordance with a state law authorizing a school district to exclude a “physically impaired child” from school athletics without first considering whether or not the child is otherwise qualified to participate. Plaintiffs claimed that this provision was unconstitutional under the Supremacy Clause because section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination under any federally funded program or activity. The case was settled by consent decree after defendant adopted a new policy on participation in athletics by students with physical disabilities. Subsequently, plaintiff sought over $37,000 in attorney fees and costs. Defendant argued that plaintiffs were entitled only to fees related to relief that could have been obtained in the form of an enforceable judgment against defendant; since the court could not have ordered it to adopt any policy on physically impaired students, plaintiffs should not receive fees incurred in negotiating the new policy. Furthermore, plaintiffs’ fee request should be lowered because their attorneys had not exercised prudent billing judgment. Rejecting these arguments, the court noted that many portions of plaintiffs’ fee request had been substantially reduced and that much of the time claimed could be attributed to defendant’s actions and its positions in litigation and in response to plaintiffs’ fee request. Courts may order parties to correct constitutional or statutory violations, and defendant had offered no cogent reason why plaintiffs should not be awarded some fees for time reasonably spent on that aspect of the case. Accordingly, the court awarded plaintiffs the full amount of attorney fees and costs requested.

Additional Information

Attorney Information
Plaintiffs represented by Elizabeth Schneider, Carolyn Reardon, Monroe County Legal Assistance Corp., 80 St. Paul St., Suite 700, Rochester, NY 14604-1350, (716) 325-2520.
Docket Date
1995-06-02 00:00:00+00:00