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Ruckelshause v. Sierra Club, 463 U.S. 680 (1983)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Ruckelshause v. Sierra Club, 463 U.S. 680 (1983)
Ruckelshause v. Sierra Club No. 82-242 Argued April 25, 1983 Decided July 1, 1983 463 U.S. 680
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT
Syllabus
Section 307(f) of the Clean Air Act provides that in a proceeding for judicial review of an emission standard promulgated under the Act, the court may award reasonable attorney’s fees "whenever it determines that such award is appropriate." Respondents filed petitions in the Court of Appeals for review of the Environmental Protection Agency’s standards limiting the emission of sulfur dioxide by coal-burning powerplants. The Court of Appeals rejected respondents’ claims challenging the validity of the standards. Subsequently, the Court of Appeals granted respondents’ request for attorney’s fees incurred in the review proceedings, awarding a specified amount to each respondent.
Held: Absent some degree of success on the merits by the claimant, it is not "appropriate" for a federal court to award attorney’s fees under § 307(f). Pp. 682-694.
(a) There is nothing in § 307(f) to indicate that Congress meant to abandon historic fee-shifting principles and intuitive notions of fairness when it enacted that section. Instead, it appears that the term "appropriate" modifies, but does not completely reject, the traditional rule that a fee claimant must "prevail" before it may recover attorney’s fees. This result is the most reasonable interpretation of congressional intent. Pp. 682-686.
(b) The legislative history of § 307(f) does not support respondents’ argument that the section was intended as a radical departure from the traditional rule. Moreover, the relation between § 307(f) and § 304(d), which, like § 307(f), provides for the award of attorney’s fees when "appropriate," refutes respondents’ argument, since, if that argument were accepted, it would mean that in an unsuccessful suit brought under § 304 by a private citizen against a private business for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act, the winning defendant could be required to pay the losing plaintiff’s attorney’s fees, a result which Congress certainly did not intend. Pp. 686-693.
217 U.S.App.D.C. 180, 672 F.2d 33, and 221 U.S.App.D.C. 450, 684 F.2d 972, reversed.
REHNQUIST, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BURGER, C.J., and WHITE, POWELL, and O’CONNOR, JJ., joined. STEVENS, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which BRENNAN, MARSHALL, and BLACKMUN, JJ., joined, post, p. 694.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Ruckelshause v. Sierra Club, 463 U.S. 680 (1983) in 463 U.S. 680 463 U.S. 681. Original Sources, accessed November 24, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=E2NMBTDYEVBW6Q6.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Ruckelshause v. Sierra Club, 463 U.S. 680 (1983), in 463 U.S. 680, page 463 U.S. 681. Original Sources. 24 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=E2NMBTDYEVBW6Q6.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Ruckelshause v. Sierra Club, 463 U.S. 680 (1983). cited in 1983, 463 U.S. 680, pp.463 U.S. 681. Original Sources, retrieved 24 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=E2NMBTDYEVBW6Q6.
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