Fox v. Vice

Holding: When there are both frivolous and non-frivolous claims in a plaintiff's civil rights suit, a court may grant reasonable attorney's fees to the defendant, but only for costs that the defendant would not have incurred but for the frivolous claims.

Plain English Holding: Courts may award attorney's fees to defendants to reimburse them for the costs of defending against the legally worthless portions of a civil rights suit, but not for the non-worthless parts of the lawsuit.

Judgment: Vacated and remanded on June 6, 2011.

SCOTUSblog Coverage

• Opinion analysis: Attorney’s fees for frivolous claims (Amy Howe)
• Argument recap: Choosing between “but for” and “fairly attributable” (Amy Howe)
• Argument preview: Attorneys’ fees for prevailing defendants (Amy Howe)
• Attorneys' fee case goes on (Lyle Denniston)
• Both sides want fee case to go on (Lyle Denniston)
• Call for new briefs in 10-114 (Lyle Denniston)
• Petition of the day (Anna Christensen)

Briefs and Documents

Merits Briefs

• Brief for Petitioner Ricky D. Fox
• Brief for Respondent, Billy Ray Vice, Chief of Police for the Town of Vinton, and the Town of Vinton
• Reply brief for Petitioner Ricky D. Fox
• Supplemental Brief of the Petitioner
• Supplemental Brief of the Respondent

Amicus Briefs

• Brief for the Liberty Institute, CATO Institute, the Independence Law Center, Institute for Justice Texas Chapter, and the James Madison Center for Free Speech in Support of Petitioner
• Brief for American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Impact Fund, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Legal Aid Society of New York City, the National Employment Lawyers Association, New York, the National Fair Housing Alliance, People for the American Way Foundation, and Public Justice in Support of Petitioner
• Brief for Arkansas, Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming in Support of Respondent
• Brief of the National Conference of State Legislatures, the National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties, the International City/County Management Association, the United States Conference of Mayors, and the International Municipal Lawyers Association in Support of Respondent

Certiorari-stage documents

• Opinion below (5th Circuit)
• Petition for certiorari (unavailable)
• Brief in opposition (unavailable)
• Petitioner's reply (unavailable)