Quigley v. Winter, 598 F.3d 938 (2010)

Citation: Quigley v. Winter, 598 F.3d 938 (2010)
Parent Document: Quigley v. Winter, 598 F.3d 938 (2010)
Jurisdiction: United States (federal)
Effective Date: 2010-03-16
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/231/quigley-v-winter/ ↗

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Winter cites two 1986 cases from outside our circuit in support of his proposition that the existence of a contingency agreement bars an award of attorney fees. See Tolliver v. Amici, 800 F.2d 149, 152 (7th Cir.1986); Keith v. Volpe, 644 F.Supp. 1317, 1319 (C.D.Cal.1986), aff'd, 858 F.2d 467 (9th Cir.1988). We consider Tolliver and Keith inapplicable and not contrary to our decision. As Quigley notes, these two cases were decided before the 1988 amendments to the FHA. Before the amendments, an award of attorney fees under the FHA was only available to “a prevailing plaintiff [who was] not financially able to assume said attorney fees.” See Tolliver, 800 F.2d at 152 (citing 42 U.S.C. § 3612(c) (1986)). The current version of the FHA does not limit attorney fees to plaintiffs or to those who are not financially able to assume the fees; rather, “the prevailing party, other than the United States, [may recover] a reasonable attorney’s fee.” 42 U.S.C. § 3613(c)(2) (emphasis added). “The attorney’s fees provided for in a contingent-fee agreement is not a ceiling upon the fees recoverable.” Blanchard v. Bergeron, 489 U.S. 87, 96, 109 S.Ct. 939, 103 L.Ed.2d 67 (1989) (addressing attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988). The district court did not err in finding Quigley was entitled to attorney fees. b. Amount of Attorney Fees

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