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Making Uncle Sam Pay: A Review Of Equal Access To Justice Act Cases In The Sixth-Circuit, 1983-1987, Martin A. Geer, Paul Reingold

Scholarly Works

Traditionally, the “American rule” for the award of attorneys’ fees has provided that parties will bear their own attorney costs absent the exceptional circumstances in which the losing party has acted in bad faith or the litigation has provided a substantial public benefit. For successful parties in litigation against the federal government, the doctrine of sovereign immunity has precluded an award of attorneys’ fees even if the “American rule” exceptions were met. Only the express waiver of immunity will allow a fee award for private parties who prevail against the government in judicial or administrative proceedings. Despite the existence of …