## Facts

- Black customers brought a class action under Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 after being denied service at multiple restaurant locations operated by Piggie Park Enterprises in South Carolina.
- The business operated five drive-in restaurants and one walk-in sandwich shop.
- The district court found that racial discrimination occurred at all six establishments and that each affected commerce within the meaning of Title II.
- Despite those findings, the district court ruled that Title II did not cover the drive-in restaurants and issued injunctive relief only as to the walk-in sandwich shop.
- The defendants asserted defenses including that the establishments were not covered public accommodations and that enforcement would violate the owner’s religious beliefs opposing racial integration.

## Issues

1. In a successful Title II action, whether a prevailing plaintiff may receive attorney’s fees under § 204(b) only if the defendant’s defenses were asserted for delay and not in good faith.
2. Whether, instead, prevailing Title II plaintiffs should generally receive attorney’s fees absent special circumstances making an award unjust.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court modified and affirmed the court of appeals’ judgment on the attorney’s-fee question.
- The Court rejected conditioning fees on a finding that the defendant acted in bad faith or for purposes of delay.
- The Court held that a plaintiff who prevails in obtaining Title II injunctive relief should ordinarily recover a reasonable attorney’s fee under § 204(b) unless special circumstances would make the award unjust.
- The case was left to proceed under the corrected fee standard.

## Legal Principles

- Title II enforcement depends in significant part on private suits for injunctive relief; successful plaintiffs act as “private attorneys general” vindicating a public policy of high priority.
- Because Title II provides injunctive relief but not damages, routine denial of fees to successful plaintiffs would deter enforcement by making suits economically impracticable.
- Under § 204(b), courts have discretion to award reasonable fees to the prevailing party, but prevailing plaintiffs are presumptively entitled to fees.
- Attorney’s fees may be denied only where “special circumstances” would render an award unjust; a defendant’s good faith is not a prerequisite to a plaintiff’s recovery of fees.

## Conclusion

The Court construed Title II’s fee provision to create a strong presumption that prevailing plaintiffs receive reasonable attorney’s fees, limiting denial of fees to rare special circumstances and rejecting any requirement that the defendant’s defenses be shown to have been asserted in bad faith or for delay.


Newman v. Piggie Park Enters., Inc., 390 U.S. 400 (1968)