Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc.
Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc. | |
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Holding | |
One who succeeds in obtaining an injunction under Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 should ordinarily recover an attorney's fee under ยง 204(b) unless special circumstances would render such an award unjust, and should not be limited, as the Court of Appeals held, to an award of counsel fees only if the defenses advanced were "for purposes of delay, and not in good faith." Fourth Circuit reversed. | |
Court membership | |
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Case opinion | |
Per curiam | |
Marshall took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. |
Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc., 390 U.S. 400 (1968), is a 1968
Background
Piggie Park Enterprises was, in 1964, a drive-in BBQ chain with four restaurants, created and operated by Maurice Bessinger, the Baptist head of the National Association for the Preservation of White People.[3][4] He did not allow African-Americans to eat in his restaurants.[5] After Bessinger's refusal to allow Anne Newman,[6] an African-American minister's wife into his restaurant, a lawyer, Matthew J. Perry, filed a class action lawsuit against the chain.
Procedural history
Perry's lawsuit was first heard in the
The plaintiffs argued that Piggie Park's exclusion of African-Americans constituted a violation of Title II. The defendant, Bessinger, denied the discrimination, denied that the restaurants were
Decision
The Court held 8-0 (Marshall not participating) that full attorney's fees should generally be recoverable, based on the intent and practical effect of the law. The Court wrote:
- When a plaintiff brings an action under that Title, he cannot recover damages. If he obtains an injunction, he does so not for himself alone, but also as a "private attorney general," vindicating a policy that Congress considered of the highest priority. If successful plaintiffs were routinely forced to bear their own attorneys' fees, few aggrieved parties would be in a position to advance the public interest by invoking the injunctive powers of the federal courts. Congress therefore enacted the provision for counsel fees -- not simply to penalize litigants who deliberately advance arguments they know to be untenable but, more broadly, to encourage individuals injured by racial discrimination to seek judicial relief under Title II.
- It follows that one who succeeds in obtaining an injunction under that Title should ordinarily recover an attorney's fee unless special circumstances would render such an award unjust.[1]
Subsequent developments
This language has been said to form of a "cornerstone" for the text of the 1967 Attorney's Fees Act.[10] Newman is seen as an early step in toward the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Award Act of 1976 and more generally the American rule.[11]
See also
- Bouie v. City of Columbia: Supreme Court case involving a sit-in at a lunch counter in Columbia
- Katzenbach v. McClung: Supreme Court case desegregating Ollie's Barbecue Restaurant in Alabama
- List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 390
References
- ^ a b c Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc., 390 U.S. 400 (1968).
- ISBN 9780735565203.
- ^ Firestone, David (September 29, 2000). "Sauce Is Boycotted, and Slavery Is the Issue". The New York Times. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
- ISBN 9780292752849. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
- ^ Monk, John (February 24, 2014). "Barbecue eatery owner, segregationist Maurice Bessinger dies at 83". The State. Archived from the original on July 1, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
- ISBN 9781609496869. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
- ^ a b "Segregation Held Legal at Drive-In Restaurant" (PDF). The New York Times. July 30, 1966. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
- ^ Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc., 256 F. Supp. 941 (D.S.C. 1966).
- ^ Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc., 377 F.2d 433 (4th Cir. 1967).
- ISBN 9781570035340. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
- JSTOR 27895588.
External links
- Text of Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc., 390 U.S. 400 (1968) is available from: CourtListener Justia Library of Congress Oyez (oral argument audio)