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Civil Procedure Keyed to Rowe
Marek v. Chesny
Citation:
473 U.S. 1 (1985)Facts
Marek (Defendant) was a police officer who shot and killed Steven Chesny while responding to a domestic disturbance call. Steven’s father (Plaintiff) filed a civil rights lawsuit against Marek. Before trial, the defendants made a settlement offer for $100,000, including costs and attorneys’ fees. Plaintiff rejected the offer and proceeded to trial. The jury decided the case for Chesny, but awarded him only $60,000 in damages. Plaintiff then filed a request for costs and attorneys’ fees. The defendants argued that plaintiff was not entitled to attorneys’ fees under Rule 68, because the pre-trial settlement offer was greater than the damages award. The district court denied plaintiff’s request for fees.
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