MARSHALL LAWRENCE DAYAN AND DAVID TAYLOR SHELLEDY, PLAINTIFFS-APPELLANTS CROSS-APPELLEES,
v.
BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA ET AL., DEFENDANTS-APPELLEES CROSS-APPELLANTS
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The court affirmed the district court's ruling that the Board of Regents' policy was constitutional and that the award of attorney's fees to the plaintiffs was proper.
Plaintiffs challenged a Board of Regents policy governing personal appearances, and the Board cross-appealed an award of attorney's fees to the plaint…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse First Amendment cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM:
The plaintiffs appeal from the district court’s ruling that the defendant Board of Regent’s policy governing the procedure for seeking personal appearances before the Board is constitutional. The defendants have cross-appealed to contest the award of attorney’s fees made to the plaintiffs and to seek an award of attorney’s fees for themselves. Finding both appeals to be without merit, we affirm.
As the district court held, the plaintiffs’ reliance on City of Madison, Joint School Dist. No. 8 v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, 429 U.S. 167, 97 S.Ct. 421, 50 L.Ed.2d 376 (1976), is misplaced because the defendant Board of Regents has not opened its meetings, either partially or completely, to the general public. Consequently, the Board’s rational procedural policy violates neither the First Amendment nor the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
As to the award of attorney’s fees to the plaintiffs, the district court found that the plaintiffs obtained substantial voluntary relief as a direct result of their lawsuit. Consequently, the award of attorney’s fees was proper. Criterion Club of Albany v. Board of Commissioners of Dougherty County, 594 F. 2d 118 (5th Cir. 1979). As to the defendants’ request for attorney’s fees, they made no such request in the trial court. Further, such an award would be inappropriate since the plaintiffs’ suit was not frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation. See Christiansburg Garment Co. v. E. E. O. C., 434 U.S. 412, 98 S.Ct. 694, 54 L.Ed.2d 648 (1978).
AFFIRMED on the basis of the district court’s opinion, 491 F.Supp. 138 (M.D.Ga. 1979), and the district court’s order of October 26, 1979 (CA 78-69-ATH).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Allaire v. Lorene L. Rogers, 658 F.2d 1055 (5th Cir. 1981)
-
Shelvia Williams v. The City OF Fairburn, 640 F.2d 635 (5th Cir. 1981)
-
Church of Scientology Flag Servs. Org., Inc. v. City of Clearwater, 773 F. Supp. 321 (M.D. Fla. 1991)….S. 122, 100 S.Ct. 2570, 65 L.Ed.2d 653 (1980); Martin v. Heckler, 113 F.2d 1145 (11th Cir.1985); Doe v. Busbee, 684 F.2d 1375; Iranian Students Association v. Sawyer, 639 F.2d 1160 (11th Cir.1981); Dayan v. Board of Regents, 620 F.2d 107 (5th Cir.1980). The Court rejects Scientology’s claim that attorneys’ fees should be awarded because Scientology’s lawsuit was a catalyst in the District Court’s declaring Ordinance No. 3091-83 unconstitutional. Regardless of the role Scientolog…
Authorities Cited
- Christiansburg Garment Co. v. Equal Emp. Opportunity Comm'n, 434 U.S. 412 (U.S. 1978)
- City OF Madison Joint Sch. Dist. NO. 8 v. Wis. Emp. Relations Comm'n, 429 U.S. 167 (U.S. 1976)
- Criterion Club OF Albany v. The Bd. OF Comm'rs OF Dougherty Cnty., 594 F.2d 118 (5th Cir. 1979)