Evans v. Jeff D., 475 U.S. 717 (1986)
Evans v. Jeff D.
Does 42 U.S.C. § 1988 prohibit defendants from conditioning a class-action settlement on the plaintiff's waiver of attorney's fees, and may a district court approve such a settlement under Rule 23(e)?
Under 42 U.S.C. § 1988, a court may, in its discretion, award reasonable attorney's fees to the prevailing party; the statute does not prohibit a party from waiving fees as a condition of settlement. District courts have discretion to approve class settlements that include fee waivers if, under Rule 23(e), the settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate to the class and not the product of collusion or overreaching. Courts generally may not sever a fee-waiver provision and award fees, thereby rewriting the parties' bargain, absent a contractual basis to do so or a statutory command.
No. Section 1988 does not bar a defendant from conditioning settlement on a waiver of attorney's fees, and the district court did not abuse its discretion in approving the class action settlement containing a fee waiver as fair, reasonable, and adequate.
Evans is a leading case on statutory fee waivers in civil rights settlements. It clarifies that § 1988 does not bar fee-conditioned settlements and places primary responsibility on district courts to ensure class settlements are fair despite potential conflicts between attorneys' financial interests and clients' remedial goals. Practically, Evans influences negotiation strategy: defendants may seek fee waivers as consideration for robust injunctive relief, while plaintiffs and courts must guard against deals that undervalue class interests. The decision is frequently cited in fee-shifting contexts and informs ethical and procedural safeguards in class action practice.