Federal Judiciary

R.P. v. Prescott USD (9th Cir. - Feb. 4, 2011)

By Shaun Martin

It's an IDEA case involving a young autistic child, and his parent sue, claiming the school system isn't doing him right.  Chief Judge Kozinski's opinion starts out by noting that the parents not only lost, but had a $140,000 fee award imposed against them.  And, as you're reading the opinion, watching the Ninth Circuit reject all the parents' arguments on the merits, you're thinking -- if you're me, anyway -- "Holy goodness.  Is the Court of Appeals really going to affirm the huge fee award?  Poor parents (and kids).  I'm sure they were just trying to do the right thing by their kid."

But, in (and at) the end, the Ninth Circuit affirms the dismissal of the lawsuit, but reverses the fee award.  A result with which I'm pretty comfortable.

The Ninth Circuit:  Not So Mean.  At least on Fridays.

Full post as published by California Appellate Report on February 04, 2011 (boomark / email).