Doe v. Township of Hampton

No. 94-811 (W.D. Pa. Dec. 11, 1996) ; Clearinghouse Number: 51561

Description

Plaintiffs Awarded $57,000 in Fees Following Their Successful Challenge to Township’s Opposition to Group Home for Persons with Mental Disabilities

Abstract

Adopting the magistrate’s report and recommendation, the district court has held that plaintiffs are entitled to $57,052 in attorney fees. Plaintiffs, four teenaged individuals with psychological, emotional, and/or neurological disabilities and a nonprofit provider of services to persons with mental disabilities, challenged defendant township’s actions, which essentially precluded plaintiffs from residing in a four-bedroom house situated on a one-and-one-half acre lot in Hampton, Pennsylvania. Plaintiffs claimed that defendant invoked its zoning laws as a means to prevent them from residing there, in violation of the Fair Housing Act. Following oral argument on defendant’s motion to dismiss, the parties settled, and plaintiffs sought attorney fees. Defendant opposed plaintiffs’ motion, arguing that plaintiffs had initiated this action in lieu of providing defendant with information it had requested regarding plaintiffs’ disabilities. Defendant asserted that it would have complied with its obligation to provide reasonable accommodation required by the Fair Housing Act once it had received adequate assurances that plaintiffs were disabled persons. Rejecting defendant’s arguments, the magistrate found that plaintiffs had achieved the benefits that they sought through litigation. The magistrate noted that, before suit was filed, plaintiffs had requested a reasonable accommodation from defendant regarding its zoning ordinance, which limited the number of unrelated individuals who may reside in a house; however, defendant failed to amend its ordinance and indicated that it intended to institute legal proceedings against plaintiffs for alleged zoning violations. Adopting the magistrate’s report and recommendations, the district court awarded plaintiffs’ three attorneys $57,052 in attorney fees for over 319 hours of legal work calculated at hourly rates ranging from $150 to $200 per hour. The court also awarded plaintiffs $668 in costs.

Additional Information

Docket Date
1996-12-11 00:00:00+00:00