Zessar v. Keith’s Empirical Analysis
536 F.3d 788 · 2008
Citation profile
9 federal appellate · 2 district · 1 state decisions
Relationships
Applies 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Civil Rights Act of 1871 / Section 1983 (Ku Klux Klan Act)) · 42 U.S.C. § 1988
Relies on Friends of the Earth Incorporateds v. Laidlaw Environmental Services Inc · Farrar v. Hobby · United States v. Munsingwear, Inc. · Buckhannon Board and Care Home Incs v. West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources · Maher v. Gagne
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 26 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“It is well-established that “prevailing party” as used in federal fee-shifting statutes like § 1988 includes only those parties that have achieved a “judicially sanctioned change in the legal relationship of the parties.” Buckhannon, 532 U.S. at 605 , 121 S.Ct. 1835 . In other words, “to qualify as a prevailing party, a civil rights plaintiff must obtain at least some relief on the merits of his claim.” Farrar v. Hobby, 506 U.S. 103, 111 , 113 S.Ct. 566 , 121 L.Ed.2d 494 (1992). A party is considered prevailing for § 1988 purposes when the court enters final judgment in its favor on some portion of the merits of its claims. Buckhannon, 532 U.S. at 605 , 121 S.Ct. 1835 (citing Farrar, 506 U.S. at 113 , 113 S.Ct. 566 ). Cases will sometimes arise where despite there being no final judgment or consent decree, the legal relationship of the parties will be changed due to a defendant’s change in conduct brought about by a judicial act exhibiting sufficient finality.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority“Cases will sometimes arise where, despite there being no final judgment or consent decree, the legal relationship of the parties will be changed due to a defendant’s change in conduct brought about by a judicial act exhibiting sufficient finality.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority“Whether a case has been rendered moot is a question of law that we review de novo.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.