Christiansburg Garment Co. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

(Redirected from 434 U.S. 412)

Christiansburg Garment Co. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 434 U.S. 412 (1978), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States that interpreted 42 U.S.C. §1988(b) to generally not require unsuccessful plaintiffs in civil rights cases to pay attorney's fees to the defendant. There would be an exception, however, for plaintiffs that brought frivolous claims. This decision has essentially helped create one way fee shifting for plaintiffs in civil rights cases.[1]

Christiansburg Garment Co. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Argued November 28, 1977
Decided January 23, 1978
Full case nameChristiansburg Garment Co. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Citations434 U.S. 412 (more)
98 S. Ct. 694; 54 L. Ed. 2d 648; 16 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 502; 15 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) ¶ 8041
Court membership
Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger
Associate Justices
William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart
Byron White · Thurgood Marshall
Harry Blackmun · Lewis F. Powell Jr.
William Rehnquist · John P. Stevens
Case opinion
MajorityStewart, joined by Burger, Brennan, White, Marshall, Powell, Rehnquist, Stevens
Blackmun took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
Civil Rights Act of 1964

References

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  1. ^ Yeazell, S.C. Civil Procedure, Seventh Edition. Aspen Publishers, New York, NY: 2008, p. 306
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