California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Silo v. CHW Medical Foundation, 103 Cal.Rptr.2d 825 (Cal. App. 2001):
Under state law "a reduced fee award is appropriate when a claimant achieves only limited success." (Sokolow v. County of San Mateo (1989) 213 Cal.App.3d 231, 249.) In Sokolow, the plaintiff challenged as discriminatory the male-only policy of a private patrol with close ties to the sheriff's department. She sought to become a member of the patrol. Plaintiff prevailed in her argument that the close ties made the patrol's male-only membership policy discriminatory state action. The remedy was to force the sheriff's department to sever such ties; plaintiff did not gain admittance to the patrol and did not entirely eliminate the County's training and use of the patrol for search and rescue missions. The court found plaintiff was a prevailing party entitled to attorney fees, but that the trial court should consider her limited success in setting a reasonable fee. (Id. at pp. 244, 250.)
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