By Brian Wolfman
Following up on yesterday's post from Steve Gardner, I wanted to let you know about two potentially important statutory attorney's fees cases before the Supreme Court. In Davis v. Department of Justice, No. 06-1131, a fee-seeking plaintiff has asked the Court to address the question whether the rule limiting attorney's fees established in Buckhannon Board and Care Home, Inc. v. W. Va. Dep't of Health and Human Resources, 532 U.S. 598 (2001), applies in Freedom of Information Act cases. An amicus brief written principally by my colleague Adina Rosenbaum -- filed on behalf of Public Citizen, Judicial Watch, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the National Security Archive -- explains why the Court should grant review and put the brakes on Buckhannon. In an apparent response to the amicus brief, the government has been ordered to respond to the petition.
In addition, on April 17, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Sole v. Wyner, No. 06-531, which addresses the circumstances, if any, in which statutory attorney's fees may be awarded to a plaintiff who secures a preliminary injunction. A host of organizations from all over the political spectrum, including Americans United, Public Citizen, and the Institute for Justice, have joined an amicus brief that lays out what is at stake in this important case.
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