Supreme Court to consider attorney fee award enhancement News
Supreme Court to consider attorney fee award enhancement

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] granted certiorari [order list, PDF] Monday in Perdue v. Kenny A. [docket; cert. petition, PDF], in which the Court will consider whether an attorney’s fee award under a federal fee-shifting statute can be enhanced based on quality of performance and results obtained when these factors already are included in the lodestar calculation. The lodestar calculation is used by courts in awarding attorney's fees and is the product of reasonable hours worked and a reasonable hourly rate. The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed [opinion, PDF] the lower court's enhancement of attorney's fees in a class action suit, finding that factors such as quality of performance and results obtained may appropriately be considered.