Fox v. Vice
Public Justice joined a coalition of public interest groups in an amici brief to the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that under 42 U.S.C. § 1988—which permits a fee award for a defendant only if the plaintiff’s claim is “frivolous”—defendants should not be awarded the entire amount of their attorneys’ fees where a so-called “frivolous” claim is inextricably intertwined with other meritorious claims. Amici argued that such a fee award would chill attorneys from pursuing the crucial work of vindicating plaintiffs’ civil rights and advocating novel arguments essential for the evolution of the law.
The brief was written by Andrew G. Celli, Jr., O. Andrew F. Wilson, and Debra L. Greenberger of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP, on behalf of Public Justice, the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Impact Fund, the 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, and the People for the American Way Foundation.
