Attorneys’ Fees, Prevailing Party, Obtaining Preliminary Injunction Is Insufficient, 5, 2
Under 42 USC 1988 (which allows attorney fee awards to prevailing parties in some civil rights actions), a plaintiff is a “prevailing party” only when a court conclusively resolves a claim by granting enduring judicial relief on the merits that materially alters the legal relationship between the parties. The court’s issuance of a preliminary injunction does not suffice because the injunction merely preserves the status quo based on a determination that plaintiffs may prevail, not that they should or do prevail. And this is true even when, as in this case, the defendant (here, the State of Virginia) moots the case by permanently changing the challenged act–here, by repealing a challenged statute.