Here, the action for attorney's fees is not, and was never, all action to enforce any of those laws. Under §1988's plain language and legislative history, only a court in an action to enforce one of the civil rights laws listed in §1988 mayĪward attorney's fees. The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded, holding that §1988 covered the actions taken by respondents subsequent to the filing of the administrative complaint, and that §1988 allowed a separate action for attorney's fees.ġ. The District Court granted summary judgment for petitioners and dismissed the action. Respondents then filed an action in District Court for attorney's fees under §1988 for services performed by their counsel in preparing the administrative complaint and in negotiating resolution of the dispute. The following day, that Plan was executed. The District Court subsequently entered a consent judgment dissolving the injunction and dismissing the action and also respondents' Title VI claims on the condition that petitioners implement the Final Mitigation Plan. Respondents in the instant case moved to intervene in that action and filed a proposed complaint asserting Title VI violations. In the meantime, construction of the highway extension had been enjoined by the Federal District Court in an unrelated action alleging violations of certain federal statutes that did not include any civil rights laws. Subsequent negotiations resulted, after five years, in a Final Mitigation Plan executed by petitioners, respondents, and the city that resolved the controversy. Respondents filed an administrative complaint with the United States Department of Transportation, challenging petitioner North Carolina Department of Transportation's proposed extension of a largely federally funded major expressway through an established, predominantly black neighborhood in the city of Durham as violative of Title VI. Title VI prohibits "any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance" from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin.
§1988, provides that "n any action or proceeding to enforce" certain enumerated civil rights laws, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the court may award attorney's fees to the prevailing party, other than the United States.
The Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Awards Act of 1976, 42 U.S.C. North Carolina Department of Transportation v.
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