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Civil rights Keyed to Jeffries, 5th Ed.
City of Riverside v. Rivera
Citation:
477 U.S. 561, 106 S.Ct. 2686, 91 L.Ed.2d 466 (1986)Facts
In August 1975, eight Chicano individuals attended a party at the Riverside, California home of Santos and Jennie Rivera. Police officers, acting without a warrant, broke up the party using tear gas and physical force, arresting four of the respondents. Criminal charges were later dismissed for lack of probable cause. In June 1976, the respondents sued the city of Riverside, its Chief of Police, and 30 individual police officers for violating their constitutional rights under various civil rights statutes. After summary judgment dismissed 17 officers, the case proceeded to trial in 1980. The jury returned verdicts in favor of the respondents against the city and five officers, finding violations of § 1983 and state law claims. Respondents were awarded $33,350 in damages ($13,300 for federal claims, $20,050 for state claims). Respondents sought attorney’s fees under § 1988, requesting compensation for 1,946.75 hours at $125 per hour, plus law clerk time, totaling $245,456.25. The District Court found both the hours and rates reasonable and awarded the full amount. After multiple appeals and remands, the Supreme Court considered whether this fee award, approximately seven times the amount of damages recovered, was reasonable.
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