Mbulu v. Bureau of National Affairs

On August 31, 2006, U.S. District Judge Bates of the District of Columbia issued a decision denying defendant BNA's motion for $167,000 in attorneys' fees after it prevailed in a Title VII/DCHRA case brought by a pro se plaintiff (admittedly, the plaintiff was an attorney but not knowledgeable about employment litigation). After summary judgment was granted, and the plaintiff did not pursue any further appeals, BNA filed its motion for attorneys' fees and costs. There's a good discussion in the first half of the opinion about why fees should be given to prevailing plaintiffs, but only given to prevailing defendants if the suit was brought in bad faith. The decision is online at:

http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/opinions/district-court-2006.html

http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/opinions/2006/Bates/2004-CV-1540~8:57:40~8-31-2006-a.pdf

Alan R. Kabat
The Bernabei Law Firm, PLLC
1775 T Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.  20009-7124
tel. (202) 745-1942 (ext. 242)
fax (202) 745-2627
email:  Kabat@BernabeiPLLC.com