Buckhannon Board & Care Home, Inc. v. West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, 532 U.S. 598 (2001), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that an award of attorney's fee to a "prevailing party" under the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Award Act of 1976 must be to a party that has received a judgment on the merits or a court-ordered consent decree..
Legacy In Lackey v. Stinnie (2025), the Supreme Court heavily relied on this case in holding that a preliminary injunction does not entitle the litigants to recoup their attorney's fees, even when the case is mooted by the challenged law's repeal, because it does not involve a full merits analysis.
See also Hardt v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Co.
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