Merrell v. Block’s Empirical Analysis

797 F.2d 740 · 1986

Citation profile

cited by 2 later decisions

February 1987

most recently cited

2 federal appellate ·

Relationships

Applies 15 U.S.C. § 1640 (§ 130 of the Truth in Lending Act) · 28 U.S.C. § 2412 · 42 U.S.C. § 1988 · 42 U.S.C. § 4321 (§ 2 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969) · 5 U.S.C. § 552 (Freedom of Information Act)

Relies on Consumer Product Safety Commission v. GTE Sylvania, Inc. · Spencer v. National Labor Relations Board · DeBardeleben v. United States · Gregory Bernard Roberts v. Maryland · Dougherty v. Lehman

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 2 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

“Except as otherwise specifically provided by statute, a court shall award to a prevailing party other than the United States fees and other expenses, in addition to any costs awarded pursuant to subsection (a), incurred by that party in any civil action ... brought by or against the United States in any court having jurisdiction of that action, unless the court finds that the position of the United States was substantially justified or that special circumstances make an award unjust.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
e.g. Merrell v. Block
“The amount of fees awarded under this subsection shall be based upon prevailing market rates for the kind and quality of the services furnished, except that... (ii) attorney fees shall not be awarded in excess of $75 per hour unless the court determines that an increase in the cost of living or a special factor, such as the limited availability of qualified attorneys for the proceedings involved, justifies a higher fee.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
e.g. Merrell v. Block
“In lieu of any order or in addition thereto, the court shall require the party failing to act or the attorney advising him or both to pay the reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fees, caused by the failure, unless the court finds that the failure was substantially justified or that other circumstances make an award of expenses unjust.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
e.g. Merrell v. Block

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.