Pennsylvania et al. v. Delaware Valley Citizens' Council for Clean Air et al. (478 U.S. 546)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided July 2, 1986 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 478 U.S. 546 · 106 S. Ct. 3088
- Decided
- July 2, 1986
- Term
- October Term 1985
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority author
- Justice White
- Issue area
- Attorneys
- Disposition
- Affirmed and reversed (or vacated) in part
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice White delivered the opinion of the Court. The questions presented in this case are first, whether the Clean Air Act, 42 U. S. C. §7401 et seq., authorizes attorney’s fees awards for time spent by counsel participating in regulatory proceedings; second, whether a court may enhance an award to reflect superior quality of representation rendered by plaintiff’s counsel; and third, whether enhancement of the fee is proper because of plaintiff’s risk of not prevailing on the merits. I In 1977, the Delaware Valley Citizens’ Council for Clean Air (Delaware Valley) and the United States each filed suit to compel the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to implement a vehicle emission inspection and maintenance program (I/M program) as required by the Clean Air Act. See 42 U. S. C. § 7410. Pursuant to a consent decree approved in 1978, the Commonwealth agreed to establish an I/M program for 10 counties in the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas by August 1, 1980. The decree called for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to seek legislation instituting a franchise I/M system under which the Commonwealth would contract with garage owners for the establishment of inspection stations. If the legislature failed to approve such a system, then the decree required PennDOT to promulgate regulations allowing Pennsylvania to certify a number of private garage facilities to…
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