Initiative and Referendum Inst. v. USPS, No. 14-5089 (D.C. Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseAfter the court held, in 2005, that a Postal Service regulation was unconstitutional based on the regulation's ban on signature collection on perimeter sidewalks, the Postal Service amended its regulation to correct the constitutional defects. The plaintiff nonprofit organizations subsequently applied for attorney’s fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. 2412(d)(1)(A). The district court denied the fee application on the ground that plaintiffs were not prevailing parties under the Act. However, the court concluded that its 2005 decision effectuated a court-ordered change in the legal relationship of the parties. The court agreed with plaintiffs that they obtained a favorable, court-ordered change and plaintiffs easily satisfy the remaining two prongs of the “prevailing party” test: They achieved a judgment “in favor of the party seeking the fees” and a judicial pronouncement “accompanied by judicial relief.” Accordingly, the court reversed and remanded for further proceedings.
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