Wheeler v. Durham Board of Education Reply Brief for Appellants, Warren H. Wheeler, et al.
Unannotated Secondary Research
September 19, 1977
20 pages
Cite this item
-
Case Files, Henry v. Clarksdale Hardbacks. Wheeler v. Durham Board of Education Reply Brief for Appellants, Warren H. Wheeler, et al., 1977. d92d546d-8418-f111-8342-0022482cdbbc. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/e247448d-be81-463b-a575-2f84491d8f91/wheeler-v-durham-board-of-education-reply-brief-for-appellants-warren-h-wheeler-et-al. Accessed April 01, 2026.
Copied!
[||c3a5514b-bb9f-4522-92c9-b732712795f2||] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
Nos. 77-1835 and 77-1836
h
WARREN H. WHEELER, et al.,
and C. C. SPAULDING, et al.,
Appellants,
Vo
A
THE DURHAM CITY BOARD OF
EDUCATION, et al.,
Appellees.
Appeal From the United States District Court
For the Middle District of North Carolina
EPLY BRIEF FOR APPELLANTS, WARREN H. WHEELER, et al.
J. LEVONNE CHAMBERS : at ed, He WHEELER ©.» 7
LOUIS L. LESESNE, JR. Coen aeti ni 116 West Parrish Street
JONATHAN WALLAS Josie Sas ©, nmooiparham, North Carolina
Chambers, Stein, Ferguson & Becton, P.A. gd 2
951 South, Independence Boulevard
‘Charlotte, North Carolina 28202
JACK GREENBERG 2 Ye rE Wn A, MARSH, JR.
JAMES N. NABRIT, III SiR er 3031/2 8, Chapel Hill
10 columbus Circle ET nat real U0
New York, New York 10019 | ind yu BEERet North Carolina
Attorneys for Appellants,
Warren H. Wheeler, et al.
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
Nos. 77-1835 and 77-1836
WARREN H. WHEELER, et al.,
and C. C. SPAULDING, et al.,
Appellants,
Ve
THE DURHAM CITY BOARD OF
EDUCATION, et al.,
Appellees.
Appeal From the United States District Court
For the Middle District of North Carolina
REPLY BRIEF FOR APPELLANTS, WARREN H. WHEELER, et al.
J. LEVONNE CHAMBERS ; J. H. WHEELER
10UIs L. LESESNE, JR. 116 West Parrish Street
JONATHAN WALLAS Durham, North Carolina
Chambers, Stein, Ferguson & Becton, P.A.
951 South Independence Boulevard
Charlotte, North Carolina 28202
JACK GREENBERG WILLIAM A. MARSH, JR.
JAMES N. NABRIT, III 203 1/2 EB. Chapel Bill
10 Columbus Circle Street
New York, New York 10019 Durham, North Carolina
Attorneys for Appellants,
Warren H. Wheeler, et al.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF AUTHORTIT TES mm mm msm so ree sm sm rm sm ot ot mm mt sot mt st mt tt to me mm mm nm ‘7
ARGUMENT
1. The City Board misconstrues the Supreme
court's decision in Bradley v. Richmond
SChOOl BOAYQememmm mmm mmm em mn mm om om mmm me em mm mm 2
2, :219388 is npplicable tO this CASemwwwmwmmmmmmt mmm 5
3. There are no special circumstances existing
in this case to justify denying plaintiffs
fees FOr Pre«l972 SOT VICES ww mmmmmmnasms osm ston mt umm wes atm oto vo oer 6
4. Plaintiffs are entitled to be compensated
for reasonable litigation SXDSYISEE mmm wn mmmmn me wr us msm may 8
5. Plaintiffs are the prevailing party herein
and are entitled to fees for all services
rendered Since JUlY 1, 1972 mmununsnmmmm mmo monn ce vu iors versm oss mos som ie me os 9
CONCILUS T ON mmm om om om mmm em mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mmm mm mm mm 14
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE= === mmm mmm mm mm mm mm mm mm om mm mm mm 15
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
CASES:
Armstead v. Starkville Municipal Separate
School District, 395 F. supp.
304 {N. D. MIRE. 1078) ure vinr ve sin sain cwiinnisas vniv eines 3
Bradley v. Richmond School Board, 416
U.S. 696 (1974) usin vin TR OMNI CP TEENIE RN 2s 3,4. 76,
Davis v, County of [os Angeles, 8 ErD
§ 9444 {C.D.Cal, 1974)... ves sinnn EL TR ESSE Ly 1}
Grier v. Specialized Skill, Inc., 326
FP. supp. 856 AWD. B.C. 1971) ceesnsioversinnsnsvussin wv.
Johugon v., Combs, 471 FP.28 84
{BER CIS 1072) iiss aleve rR ER el SE 2, '3
Johnson v. Georgia Highway Express, Inc.,
488 R.26 714 {B3ChiCly. 1974)... 0s ist vines aninnssn 13
Johnson v. Railway Express Agency, 421
U8, A848 H1075Y ov vie sad env prvinivinsve snivie spin vss vn 5
Jones v. Mayer Co., 392 U.S. 409 (1968)... veer evrerersnnes 5
Lytle v. commissions of Election of
Union County, 541 F.2d 421
{4th Cir. 1975) {petition for
cert. DEn@ing). cover veorivenssnssitssssconesanenions 9, 10
Scott v. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County
Board of Education, 400 F. Supp.
65 (M.D.N.C. 1974), affd., 530
F.28 969 (4th Cir. 1075) selene s cnnimenoivision en rinsy on 2
Stanford Daily v. Zurcher, 64 F.R.D. 680
AR. D.C. IT h einicav ciunivt ms vnnisbisineenseeivesniesio ue 11, 12
Cnt i id ih ae i Sat TIN ASR BN ih vol Be Cl ERY Bh i AS 3h igs ie nit
Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of
Education, 66 F.R.D. 483
(WD. B.C, 1978) innniviswnsvaisitrnvinsvsssnsscssvinns 11, 12
Thompson v. School Board of City Of
Newport News, Virginia, 472
P.24 177 44th Cir. 1972). vans nrssnsinsrsevrivesas 2,:3,:6,.7
wade v. Mississippi Cooperative
Extension Service, 378 F.Supp.
1251 (AR.D.Mi88. 1975) veer srrsrsssidonsrsvassisninsn 12
STATUTES:
Ae Bar. ISB. ls a sheen 5, 6
Ao a o GIORD ss dhe aa nid A Bes SH ss Mie a nn eis 5
WE THIN DLS Re Te lm SE gh 5,06
A Ren eGR Cl nN 5
SB. Br, WEBLO. et a ade in ne ele ns ed sane Se ni 5
ii
IN THE
UNITED STATES COURT
OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH C
IRCUIT
77-1835 and 7718
35 Nos.
=
WARREN H. WHEELER, et al., and
Cc. C. SPAULDING, et al.,
Appellants,
Ve.
THE DURHAM CITY
BOARD OF EDUCATIO
N,
at al.,
Appellees.
" Appeal From the
United States
pistrict Court FOr
the
Middle pistrict
of North Carolin
a
REPLY BRIEF FOR
APPELLANTS WARR
EN WHEELER, et al.
Er
ARGUMENT
1. The City Board misconstrues the Supreme Court's decision
in Bradley v. Richmond School Board.
Plaintiffs ‘submit that the City Board 3 in its brief
filed herein has misapplied and misconstrued the Supreme Court's
decision in Bradley v. Richmond School Board, 416 U.S. 696 (1974)
and has relied upon cases of this Circuit which were effectively
overruled by Bradley. The cases of Thompson v. School Board of
City of Newport News, Virginia, 472 7. 248 177 (4th Cir. 1972) and
Johnson v. Comps, 471 ¥. 28:84 (5th Cir. 1872), decisions which
provide the heart of the City Board's §718 argument, were specifi-
cally disapproved in Bradley. Justice Blackmun specifically stated:
we must reject the contention that a change in
the law is to be given effect in a pending case
only where that is the clear and stated intention
of the legislature..... Bradley, supra at 715:
1/ plaintiffs will utilize the same abbreviations in this
brief that were used in their primary brief. (See Brief
for Appellants at pp. v-vi) The Brief for Appellants
Warren H. Wheeler, et al., filed August 4, 1977, will be
referred to as "Brief for Appellants.”
is i iii ai Bo iat Cl GE Sa Dither Bi SA a i li hu SP Shut a egies SiC chi ia As ct pan 2 SA
The Supreme Court then cited Thompson by name, in footnote 20,
as an example (along with Johnson v. combs) of cases resting
on the very erroneous contention rejected in Bradley. This
Court's opinion in Thompson centers on the lack of any expressed
congressional intent to apply the statute retrospectively 472
Fr. 2d:at 178. In view of the Supreme Court's explicit rejection
of the Thompson approach, the reliance placed on that case by the
city Board and by the District Court here is misplaced. Plaintiffs
submit that, for the sake of clarity, this Court should explicitly
hold that Thompson is no longer controlling in this Circuit.
Furthermore, the City Board inappropriately attempts to
limit the holding of Bradley to those cases where a fee award
question was pending on appeal as of July 1, 1972. As pointed out
in the Brief for Appellants at pp. 12-15, the pertinent question
is whether or not a final judgment with respect to fees has ever
been entered in this proceeding (and the time to appeal has
expired), not whether the request for fees was on appeal (rather
than pending in the District Court) at the time §718 was enacted.
See Armstead v. Starkville Municipal Separate School Digtrict,
395 7, Supp. 304, 308 (%. D. Miss. 1973).
The position advanced by the City Board would require the
anomalous result that §718 would be retroactively applied to
cases where the statute was not effective at the time the
District
Court ruled on the fee award but would be only prospectively
applied in those cases where the District Court initially ruled
on a fee question after the effective date of §718.
Justice Blackmun's opinion in Bradley is directed to the
more difficult question of whether §718 should be applied retro-
actively when it became law only after the District Court's fee
MD
decision. Since §718 now provides the basis for reversing a fee
decision which was otherwise correct at the time of entry, it
must surely be equally applicable when the District Court renders
its initial decision after the effective date of that statute.
Nor is the decision in Scott v. Winston-Salem/Forsyth
county Board of Education, 400 F. Supp. 65 (M.D.N.C. 1974), afzid.
530 F. 2d 969 (4th Cir. 1975) controlling here. As pointed out in
the Brief for Appellants at pp. 14-15, a "final judgment" with
respect to fees was entered by the District Court in Scott on
September 19, 1973. That order was not appealed and thus became
final. A subsequent motion filed by the plaintiffs after the
Bradley decision attempting to reopen the counsel fee question was
disallowed by the Court. Plaintiffs submit that the Scott dcolsion,
in light of Bradley and Congress's subsequent actions with respect
to counsel fees in civil rights cases, should be limited to its
own facts.
RE ft Cs a at ke Son ELSE pe a ad
2. §1988 is applicable to this case.
The City Board argues that §1988 does not provide a
basis for counsel fees in this litigation. As plaintiffs have
pointed out in the Brief for Appellants at pp. 15-19, there
is absolutely no support in the legislative history of the 1976
Act to justify limiting its application only to non-school
desegregation cases. Tt applies equally to all §198l1 and $1983
proceedings. The fact that S718 and §1988 provide overlapping
fee remedies should not be surprising. Similar complementary
remedies exist in the areas of employment discrimination (Title VII
of ‘the Civil Rights Act of 1964 + 42:3.,8,C, 820000 ot. geq. and
42.0.8.C. §logl), discrimination in housing (Title VIII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1968, 42 U.S.C. §3610 and 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981
and 1982), and discrimination in public accommodations (Title II
Of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.8.C, §2000a et. seg. and
42 V.8.C, $1981). See,e.9., Johnson v. Railway Express Adency,
421 0.8, 454 (1975); Jones v, Maver Co., 392 U.S. 409 (1968): and
Grier v, Specialized Skillz, Inc.,, 326 F, Supp. 856 (Ww, p.N.C. 1971).
Moreover, if the defendant's analysis of the statutes
involved herein is correct, the fee remedy in a school desegregation
case will be different in scope from that in other civil rights
cases. The City Board virtually concedes, as it must, that §1988
ls retroactive, (see Brief for Appellants at pp. 19-24) thereby
making fees available for all cases pending as of the effective
date of the 1976 Act. On the other hand, the City Board argues
that §718 is the exclusive statutory basis for fees in school
desegregation cases and that Thompson limits counsel fees to
legal services after July 1, 1972. Such a result is inconsistent
with Congress' express desire to make fee awards "wniform”, as
it would reopen the very "gap" which Congress in the 1976 Act
sought to close. The Court below and the City Board in its
brief cite no authority to support the conclusion that Congress
meant §1988, which effectively says "fees should be allowed to
prevailing plaintiffs in all §1981 and §1983 cases”, to read,
"fees should be allowed to prevailing plaintiffs in all §1981 and
§1983 cases except those involving school desegregation." This
Court should not allow such a tortured misinterpretation of
Congressional will to stand.
3S. There are no special circumstances existing in this
case to justify denying plaintiffs fees for pre-1972 services.
The argument made by the City Board that plaintiffs are
not entitled to counsel fees for services rendered prior to July 1,
1972, explicitly depends on this Court holding that §1988 is not
applicable to this case and that the Thompson decision-is, after
Na
Bradley, controlling law in this Circuit. Plaintiffs have set
forth previously in this brief,and in the Brief for Appellants,
arguments demonstrating that §1988 does apply herein and that
ian e——
Thompson has been effectively (if not explicitly) overruled by
the Supreme Court in Bradley. These arguments need not be
repeated here.
Plaintiffs do quarrel, however, with the gratuitous
conclugion of the City Board in lts brief at p. 10 that Mit is
obvious that when litigation proceeds in stages, each of which is
then 'final' as to the rights and obligations of the parties, a
party can expect to have all collateral issues determined within
a short period following the Court determination on the substantive
issues." Plaintiffs submit that the record in this case indicates
that no hearings were held and no determinations ore made as to
the questions of costs and counsel fees in this case from 1964
to 1977. The parties and the Court sidetracked {and appropriately
so) the collateral question of fees until the substantive litigation
was completed and the Durham City school Snihn was brought into
constitutional compliance. While interim fee awards may be
appropriate, there is no requirement that such awards be sought
or made. The normal course is for the fee question to be decided
at gio end of the litigation. As Justice Blackmun stated in
Bradley, supra at pp. 722-723:
Surely, the language of §718 is not to be read
to the effect that a fee award must be made
simultaneously with the entry of a desegregation
order. The statute, instead, expectedly makes
the existence of a final order a prerequisite
ig 0
ET nT
to the award. The unmanageability of a
requirement of simultaneity is apparent
when one considers the typical course of
litigation in a school desegregation
action.... The resolution of the fee issue
may be a matter of some complexity and
require, as here, the taking of evidence
and briefing. It would therefore be un-
desirable to delay the implementation of
a desegregation plan in order to resolve
the question of fees simultaneously. The
District Court properly chose not to
address itself to the question of the award
until after it had approved the non-interim
plan for achievement of the unitary school
system, ie.
Finally, to the extent that the defendant and the Court
below relied on the District Court's "discretion" to any fees
for services prior to July 1, 1972, plaintiffs rely on the Brief
for Appellants at pp. 25-37.
4, Plaintiffs are entitled to be compensated for reasonable
litigation expenses.
Defendant contends that Congress intended in §1988 and
§718 to preclude prevailing counsel from recovering such costly
and ASCSERALY litigation expenses as paralegal services, copying,
long distance and travel expenses, and other similar items. As
set forth in detail in the Brief for Appellants at pp. 38-48,
litigation expenses should be allowed because they are consistent
with the spirit and intent of the counsel fee statutes, because
‘they were specifically mentioned as being included as part of
"attorney's fees" recoverable under §1988 by Congressman Drinan
(See, Brief for Appellants at p. 39), and because the allowance
of such expenses may in some instances lower the total costs of
2/ |
litigation. -—
Be Plaintiffs are the prevailing party herein and are
entitled to fees for all services rendered since July 1, 1972.
The 2UtY Board, in its appeal, argues that the plaintiffs
are not the preiai ling party herein with respect to certain issues
raised since July 1, 1972, and that plaintiffs should not recover
fees for seeking interdistrict relief. Plaintiffs submit they
have "prevailed" herein and are entitled to fees for bringing the
Durham City school system into constitutional compliance.
The standard in this Circuit for determining the pre-
vailing party for the purpose of awarding counsel fees is Sot Havel
in Lytle v. Commissioners of Elections of Union County, 541 F. 2d
421, 425 {4th Cir. 1976), potition for cert. pending. The standard
for the award of fees is the same as that for the award of costs
under Rule 54. If judgment is rendered in favor of a plaintiff,
he is the prevailing party. Footnote 6 in Lytle sets out the
appropriate standard and authority:
Commissioners' contention that to be the
"prevailing party" Lytle must win on all
issues is clearly without merit.
2/ For example, lawyers are making increasing use of
paralegal assistants in their practices. To deny
recovery for such reasonable expenses might promote
the inefficient substitution of a lawyer's time
where a paralegal's services would be adequate.
hh
"although a plaintiff may not sustain his
entire claim, if judgment is rendered for
him he is the prevailing party." 6
J. Moore, Federal Practice 54.70[4], at
1306-07 & n.3 {24 ed. 1975). ACcord,
10 C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal
Practice and Procedure: Civil §2667, at
129 & n.8 (1971). See, ©.¢., K=2 Ski
Co, v, Head Ski Co., 506 7.248 471, 477
(9th Cir. 1974): lewis v. Pennington,
400 7.28 806, 820 (6th Cir.,), Cert.
denied, 393 U.S. 983, 89 8.Ct. 450, 21
LL.B. 28 444 (1968); Sperry Rand Corp.
v, A~T+0, Inc.,: 58 P.R.D. 132, 135
(B.D. Va. 1973). (All the authorities
cited above discuss the "prevailing
party” concept in the context of Fed. R.
Civ. P.54. We believe that same analysis
is applicable to the term as used in the
statutute.)
This Court's standard as set forth in Iytle is consistent
with other authority and the legislative history of §1988. In
Bradley, supra, at 710, plaintiffs were fully compensated even
though the District Court rejected their desegregation plan and
accepte.. that of the defendants. The legislative history of the
1976 Act indicates that:
"[i] n appropriate circumstances, counsel fees
under [the Act] may be awarded pendente lite.
See Bradley, [supra]. Such awards are
especially appropriate where a party has
prevailed on an important matter in the course
of litigation, even when he ultimately does
not prevail on all issues. See Bradley, supra;
Mills v, Electric Auto-~Iife Co., 396 U.S.
375 (1970), (emphasis added) Legislative
History at p. ll, (Senate Report at p. 5).
In Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education,
66 P.R.D, 483, 484 (W.,D.R.C.1975) plaintiffs were awarded fees
for the entire litigation "as the winners rather than the losers
of the litigation," even though plaintiffs did not "prevail" on
every issue becausé, as here, "the result has been the complete
desegregation of the nar otte-Neghlionknys school system." The
civil rights attorney's fees provisions, in short, are result-
oriented.
The language of Swann was specifically approved in the
1976 Act: "The appropriate standards...... are correctly applied
in such cases as Stanford Daily v. Zurcher, 64 F.R.D, 680 (N.D.
cal, 1974); Davis v. County of Los Angeles, 8 EPD 49444 (C.D. Cal.
1974): and Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education
[supral...... In computing the fee, counsel for prevailing parties
should he paid, as is traditional with attorneys compensated by
a fee-paying client, 'for all time reasonable expended on a
matter' Davis, supra; Stanford Dally, supra.” (Emphasis added),
Legislative History at p. 12 (Senate Report at p.6). Davis
expressly states:
Since plaintiffs prevailed on the merits and
achieved excellent results for the represented
class, plaintiffs' counsel are entitled to
an award of fees for all time reasonably
expended in pursuit of the ultimate result
achieved in the same manner that an attorney
traditionally is compensated by a fee-paying
client for all time reasonable expended on
a matter....8 EPD 9444 at p.50409.
wl
I ——————a—
The District Court's issue-by-issue parsing was also specifically
rejected in Zurcher, supra, 64 F.R.D. at 684. See also, Wade v.
Mississippi Cooperative Extension Service, 378 F. Supp. 1251,
1254 (M.D. Miss, 1975),
Plaintiffs counsel should not be required to divine the
exact parameters of a Court's willingness to grant relief. Counsel
should be encouraged to present vigorous arguments in favor of
their clients and to seek the maximum appropriate relief. As
long as no frivolous arguments are presented and plaintiffs
prevail, counsel should be compensated fer all reasonable time
expended.
When the Complaints. were filed in this proceeding, the
Durham City school system was rigidly and totally segregated.
After years of difficult and persistent litigation, the system
finally, on March 1, 1977, was declared unitary. Plaintiffs have
thus reached their goal and have prevailed in this litigation.
The latest round of litigation in this case, while focusing on
the question of interdistrict relief, resulted in a finding by
this Court that as of 1975, the Durham City school system was
not yet unitary because the District Court "failed to give due
Cone ATY RL Lin to 'the ne of all techniques for dakegregation’
as enumerated in Swann," 521 F.24 at 1136. Plaintiffs thus
prevailed in the latest round of litigation and obtained additional
Hy a
Mie y gE ” ec i sas Eh ee
relief to desegregate the pertinent school system. The stated
purpose of this case, the desegregation of the seytinant school
district, has been realized; no contention has been or could be
made that plaintiffs Bide acted frivolously or unreasonably; and
plaintiffs are, therefore, the prevailing party entitled to a
reasonable fee award: for all time spent.
Finally, plaintiffs submit the City Board's appeal on
this issue may be premature. While the Court below has ruled
plaintiffs are entitled to counsel fees for services rendered
since July 1, 1972, Judge Gordon has not yet made a dollar award.
The District Court has not yet specifically considered the various
factors relating to a fee award. See Johnson v. Georgia Highway
Fypregsg, Inc., 48B v.24 714 (5th Cir. 1974). Since plaintiffs
contend fees should be awarded for pre-1972 services and since
the District Court has not yet weighed the Varlons pertinent
criteria in making a final fee award, plaintiffs respectfully
submit the City Board's appeal might best be left until after such
a determination below.
wl De
CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth herein and in the Brief for
Appellants, plaintiffs respectfully pray that those portions of
the Order entered in this case on March 31, 1977, denying plain-
tiffs counsel fees for services rendered prior to July 1, 1972,
and denying plaintiffs recovery for reasonable litigation expenses
incurred in this proceeding be reversed and that plaintiffs be
awarded thelr costs including reasonable counsel fees and expenses
in this appeal.
Respectfully submitted,
eo Aoullan fl bli
Jl LeVonne Chambers
1oRTe 1. Lesesne, Jr.
Jonathan Wallas
Chambers, Stein, Ferguson & Becton, P.A.
730 East Independence Plaza
951 South Independence Boulevard
Charlotte, North Carolina 28202
704/375-8461
William A. Marsh, Jr.
203 1/2 E. Chapel Hill Street
Durham, North Carolina
J. H. Wheeler
116 West Parrish Street
Durham, North Carolina
Jack Greenberg
- James N. Nabrit, III
10 Columbus Circle
New York, New York 10019
~ Attorneys for Plaintiffs-Appellants
wo) de
"promo.
&
3
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
The undersigned hereby certifies that the foregoing Reply
Brief has been served On counsel for the defendants below,
Durham City Board of Education, et al., by serving two Copies
of said brief on Marshall Spears, Jr., P. 0. Box 270, Durham,
North Carolina 27702.
This the 19th day of September, 1977.
of $ 199 ll SN AA LAA
JONATHAN WALLAS
1
& \ 4 A
32.
ay « RE a a, tan [||c3a5514b-bb9f-4522-92c9-b732712795f2||]