Givens v. Delta Electric Power Ass'n

699 F. Supp. 91, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12751
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Mississippi
DecidedAugust 22, 1988
DocketNo. GC83-171-B-O
StatusPublished

This text of 699 F. Supp. 91 (Givens v. Delta Electric Power Ass'n) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Givens v. Delta Electric Power Ass'n, 699 F. Supp. 91, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12751 (N.D. Miss. 1988).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

BIGGERS, District Judge.

The court has before it the defendant’s motion for sanctions and attorney’s fees pursuant to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 28 U.S.C. § 1927, 42 U.S.C. § 1988 and 42 U.S.C. § 2996e(f). Having considered the parties’ memoranda, exhibits and the history of this action, the court is in a position to rule on the merits.

I.

In June, 1983, attorneys for North Mississippi Rural Legal Services filed this action against Delta Electric Power Association, its board of directors and officers, the Director of the Rural Electrification Administration and the Secretary of Agriculture alleging claims based upon:

(1) 42 U.S.C. § 1981;
(2) 42 U.S.C. § 1985;
(3) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq.;
(4) the 1965 Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S. C. § 1971, et seq.;
(5) the Rural Electrification Act, 7 U.S. C. § 901, et seq.;
(6) the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution;
(7) the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution;
(8) the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution;
(9) Miss.Code Ann. § 11-39-1, et seq.;
(10) Miss.Code Ann. § 77-5-201, et seq.; and
(11) Mississippi Common Law.

The plaintiffs never served the Director of the Rural Electrification Administration and the Secretary of Agriculture; consequently, they did not become parties to this suit.

After the defendant filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the plaintiffs confessed that its Thirteenth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, Fifteenth Amendment, Voting Rights, 42 U.S.C. § 1971 and 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3) claims were meritless and the court dismissed these claims with prejudice. The court also dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims for employment discrimination because none of the plaintiffs had applied for jobs or been employed by the defendant.

Subsequently, the defendant filed a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the remainder of the plaintiffs’ claims. In a published opinion, the court dismissed the claim that blacks had received less service from Delta Electric and dismissed the claim that Delta Electric had discriminated in the use of federal funds it received. See Givens v. Delta Electric, 572 F.Supp. 555 (N.D.Miss.1983).

The only remaining claim left for trial was the allegation that Delta Electric did not permit blacks to exercise any membership rights in the cooperative. At trial, the plaintiffs presented insufficient evidence to prove this claim, and as a result the court dismissed the suit. After trial, the defendant made the instant motion for sanctions and attorney’s fees and the court stayed resolution of the motion pending the final decision in Thomas v. Capital Security Services, 836 F.2d 866 (5th Cir.1988).

II.

The plaintiff filed this suit before Rule 11 was amended to evaluate an attorney’s [93]*93actions by an objective standard. Before Rule 11 was changed in 1983, an attorney’s subjective good faith protected him from sanctions. Thomas v. Capital Security Services, 836 F.2d at 873. “In essence, an honest ... attorney would be immune from Rule 11 sanctions.... The revised Rule 11 changes the standard used to test a pleading for frivolousness.” Robinson v. National Cash Register Co., 808 F.2d 1119, 1126-1127 (5th Cir.1987). Like the amended Rule 11, 28 U.S.C. § 1927 and 42 U.S.C. § 1988, utilizes an objective standard to evaluate an attorney’s acts. Christianburg Garment Co. v. EEOC, 434 U.S. 412, 420-22, 98 S.Ct. 694, 699-701, 54 L.Ed.2d 648, 656-657 (1978). While Rule 11 provides a penalty for an attorney’s transgressions, 28 U.S.C. § 1927 and 42 U.S.C. § 1988 can serve as a fee-shifting mechanism to compensate defendants for the costs incurred defending groundless claims and vexatious suits.

“[T]he term ‘vexatious’ in no way implies that the plaintiff’s subjective bad faith is a necessary prerequisite to a fee award against him. In sum, a district court may award attorney’s fees to a prevailing defendant based upon a finding that the plaintiff’s claim ... was frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation, even though not brought in subjective bad faith_” Christianburg Garment Co., at 421, 422, 98 S.Ct. at 700, 701, 54 L.Ed.2d at 656, 657. “[PJarties are not required by Rule 11 to voluntarily dismiss their claims once they decide not to pursue their claims,” Thomas v. Capital Security Services, 836 F.2d at 874 n. 9, but a plaintiff may be assessed his opponent’s attorney’s fees, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1927 and 42 U.S.C. § 1988 when he litigates a frivolous claim “after it clearly became so.” Christianburg Garment Co. v. EEOC, 434 U.S. at 422, 98 S.Ct. at 701, 54 L.Ed.2d at 657; see also Thomas v.

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Related

Jack White v. South Park Independent School District
693 F.2d 1163 (Fifth Circuit, 1982)
Patricia Thomas v. Capital Security Services, Inc.
836 F.2d 866 (Fifth Circuit, 1988)
Givens v. Delta Electric Power Ass'n
572 F. Supp. 555 (N.D. Mississippi, 1983)
Johnson v. Georgia Highway Express, Inc.
488 F.2d 714 (Fifth Circuit, 1974)
Vaughner v. Pulito
804 F.2d 873 (Fifth Circuit, 1986)
Roper v. Edwards
815 F.2d 1474 (Eleventh Circuit, 1987)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
699 F. Supp. 91, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12751, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/givens-v-delta-electric-power-assn-msnd-1988.