D. Attorney's Fees and Costs

• Library: South Carolina Damages Supplement (SCBar) (2017 Ed.)

D. Attorney's Fees and Costs

Pg. 320

Insert the following sentence and accompanying footnote after the first paragraph in block-quotation format:

The purpose of this fee-shifting statute is to permit civil rights plaintiffs access to competent counsel.^59.1

^59.1 Lefemine v. Wideman, 758 F.3d 551, 555 (4th Cir. 2014) (quoting Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 429, 103 S. Ct. 1933, 76 L. Ed. 2d 40 (1983)).

Update the end of the second paragraph in block-quotation format after the ellipses to read:

. . . must: (i) be filed no later than 14 days after the entry of judgment; (ii) specify the judgment and the statute, rule, or other grounds entitling the movant to the award; (iii) state the amount sought or provide a fair estimate of it; and (iv) disclose, if the court so orders, the terms of any agreement about fees for the services for which the claim is made.

Add the following text to the end of footnote 60:

This logic seems to run contrary to the policy underlying 42 U.S.C. § 1988 as recognized by the Fourth Circuit and Supreme Court in Lefemine and Hensley.

1. Entitlement to Fees: "Prevailing Party" Status

Pg. 322

Add the following paragraph and footnote after the end of the sentence accompanying footnote 71 but before the first full paragraph:

The type and amount of damages awarded to a party is also relevant to the entitlement to attorney's fees. An award of nominal damages to a plaintiff, for example, may not give rise to attorney's fees. In such a case, the court will consider three factors in determining whether to award fees: (1) the extent of relief sought compared to the relief

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