Attorney fess.

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. District Court

SEC. 1988

Estate of Reynolds v. Greene County, 163 F.Supp.2d 890 (S.D.Ohio 2001). The estate of a prisoner who died of pneumonia several days after being transferred from a county jail to a state prison brought state court claims against the county and jail officials alleging that he was denied adequate medical care. The case was removed to federal court. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants and the defendants moved for the award of attorney fees. The district court declined to award attorney fees, finding that the action was neither frivolous nor without foundation. (Greene County Jail, Ohio)