Attorney fess.

• Position: Brief Article

U.S. District Court

PLRA-Prison Litigation Reform Act

Christina A. ex rel. Jennifer A. v. Bloomberg. 167 F.Supp.2d 1094 (D.S.D. 2001). Inmates at youth facilities sued the secretary of the corrections department and the superintendent of a state training school, alleging deprivation of due process rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, and violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The parties settled the action and the district court approved the settlement. The inmates moved to have attorney fees awarded and the district court granted the motion in part and denied it in part. The court held that a provision of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLEA) that limited attorney fees was not applicable and that the class of inmates were entitled to attorney fees in the amount of $302,617 and expenses of $74,019. According to the court, a juvenile facility was not a "jail, prison, or other correctional facility" under PLEA. (State Training School, South Dakota)

U.S...