Fogerty v. Fantasy, Inc. (1993)
- Docket
- 92-1750
- Decided
- 1993-01-01
Summary
Question: Do federal courts have discretion over whether or not to force a losing party to pay all or part of the victorious party's attorney's fees? Conclusion: Yes. In a unanimous opinion, the Court held that while attorney's fees are awarded from time to time to prevailing defendants or plaintiffs, this practice is entirely subject to the deciding court's discretion. Indeed, the Court observed, that the statute in question emphasizes such discretion by stating in relevant part that a court "may" award attorney's fees. The Court concluded that such discretion is to be applied evenhandedly between victorious defendants and plaintiffs.