Vega v. Vose

909 F. Supp. 76, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19377, 1995 WL 765540
CourtDistrict Court, D. Rhode Island
DecidedDecember 1, 1995
DocketCiv. A. No. 93-0244T
StatusPublished

This text of 909 F. Supp. 76 (Vega v. Vose) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Rhode Island primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vega v. Vose, 909 F. Supp. 76, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19377, 1995 WL 765540 (D.R.I. 1995).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

LOVEGREEN, United States Magistrate Judge.

The plaintiff Benito Vega (“Vega” or “plaintiff’) instituted suit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that defendant correctional officials and Parole Board members violated his state and federal constitutional rights. Following a three day non-jury, consent trial before me, I determined that defendants had violated Vega’s right to due process and awarded him $1 in compensatory damages. Presently before me is plaintiffs request for attorney’s fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988. A hearing was held on this matter on July 11, 1995. After listening to the arguments of counsel and reviewing the memoranda submitted, I decline to award plaintiff attorney’s fees.

Background.

The relevant facts of the instant case are briefly summarized below. In December, 1985, Vega, pled no contest to criminal charges in the state court and received three years imprisonment, four years probation and a four year suspended sentence to run concurrently with the probation period. After serving approximately eight months of his sentence in the Adult Correctional Institution (“ACI”), Vega escaped on April 15, 1986. Vega was returned to the ACI on July 17, 1992, subsequently pled no contest to the escape charge and received a suspended sentence to run concurrently with probation. This sentence, however, added no additional time to Vega’s prior, unfinished period of incarceration.

Following his return to prison, Vega calculated that his initial eligibility date for a parole hearing was approximately the end of November, 1992. His determination was based on R.I.Gen.Laws § 13-8-9, which essentially provides that a prisoner becomes [78]*78eligible for parole after serving one-third of his sentence. Since Vega had served approximately eight months prior to his escape and no additional incarceration time was added to his original sentence, parole eligibility should have been four months following his return to the ACI or November, 1992.

Between August, 1992 and November, 1992 Vega engaged in a flurry of correspondence with various administrators of the ACI and members of the Parole Board. From this correspondence, Vega learned that it was the Parole Board’s policy not to review an escapee for possible parole until one year after his or her return to prison. However, at no time was Vega provided nor could he find a copy of any properly, adopted regulation that would justify such a policy.

Vega subsequently commenced suit on May 3, 1993, contending that various administrators of the ACI and members of the Parole Board violated his constitutional rights. Specifically, he alleged violations of Sections 9 and 10 of Article I and the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Sections 2 and 12 of the Rhode Island Constitution. The complaint sought compensatory and punitive damages against each defendant as well as injunctive relief.

Following a three day trial by consent, I found that defendant’s due process rights under both the state and federal constitutions had been violated as the one year policy delaying parole eligibility had not been properly promulgated under Rhode Island’s Administrative Procedures Act in 1992 when it had been applied to plaintiff. Although his due process rights had been violated, I awarded plaintiff only $1 in compensatory damages reasoning that:

The evidence is clear and certainly undisputed that even if plaintiff had his parole hearing in November, 1992 rather than in July, 1993, such hearing would have resulted in denial of parole. The record discloses that plaintiff appeared before the Board on two subsequent occasions with the result that parole was denied each time. Plaintiff served his entire sentence without parole.

Additionally, all of Vega’s remaining claims were found to be without merit.

Presently before me is Vega’s application for $40,734.57 in attorney’s fees pursuant to The Civil Rights Attorney’s Fees Award Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1988. Vega contends that he is a “prevailing party” within the strictures of § 1988 and, as such, asserts “reasonable” attorney’s fees in the amount of $40,734.57 should be awarded. Relying heavily on Domegan v. Ponte, 972 F.2d 401 (1st Cir.1992), Vega argues fees in such an amount should be awarded as his attorneys’ expenditures of time and fee rates were reasonable and that, although his monetary judgment was de min-imis, his victory vindicated important constitutional rights. However, the state of Rhode Island counters that no fees should be awarded based on the recent Supreme Court decision of Farrar v. Hobby, 506 U.S. 103, 113 S.Ct. 566, 121 L.Ed.2d 494 (1992), and alternatively, if attorney’s fees are awarded, such fees should be substantially reduced as plaintiffs request is unreasonable.

Discussion.

I. b2 U.S.C. § 1988.

The Civil Rights Attorney’s Fees Award Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1988 provides in relevant part:

In any action or proceeding to enforce a provision of sections 1981,1982,1983, 1985, and 1986 of this title ... the court, in its discretion, may allow the prevailing party, other than the United States, a reasonable attorney’s fees as part of the costs.

Thus, in order to obtain attorney’s fees under § 1988, a plaintiff in one of the enumerated civil rights actions must have been a “prevailing party” and any subsequent award must be “reasonable.” See Farrar v. Hobby, 506 U.S. 103, 113 S.Ct. 566, 121 L.Ed.2d 494 (1992).

Recently, the United States Supreme Court in Farrar made clear that “a plaintiff who wins nominal damages is a prevailing party under § 1988.” Id. at 112, 113 S.Ct. at 573. In the instant case, Vega received a judgment for $1 in compensatory damages. As such, Vega is a “prevailing party” under § 1988. Thus, the remaining inquiry shifts [79]*79to what amount of attorney’s fees, if any, is reasonable given the facts and circumstances of this case.

II. Reasonable Attorney’s Fees.

The Supreme Court in Farrar stated that “[although the ‘technical’ nature of a nominal damages award or any other judgment does not affect the prevailing party inquiry, it does bear on the propriety of fees awarded under § 1988.” Id. at 114, 113 S.Ct. at 574. In fact, the primary criterion “in determining the reasonableness of a fee award ‘is the degree of success obtained.’” Id. (quoting in part Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 436, 103 S.Ct.

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Carey v. Piphus
435 U.S. 247 (Supreme Court, 1978)
Hensley v. Eckerhart
461 U.S. 424 (Supreme Court, 1983)
Memphis Community School District v. Stachura
477 U.S. 299 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Farrar v. Hobby
506 U.S. 103 (Supreme Court, 1992)
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Jones v. Lockhart
29 F.3d 422 (Eighth Circuit, 1994)
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Mohwish v. United States
507 U.S. 956 (Supreme Court, 1993)

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Bluebook (online)
909 F. Supp. 76, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19377, 1995 WL 765540, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vega-v-vose-rid-1995.