Green v. Mercy Housing, Inc., No. 20-15134 (9th Cir. 2021)
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The Ninth Circuit vacated the district court's grant of costs to Mercy Housing in an action brought by a former tenant under the Fair Housing Act. The panel joined the the First, Second, Fourth, and Fifth Circuits, all of which have applied the Christiansburg standard, and held that a plaintiff bringing suit under the Fair Housing Act should not be assessed fees or costs unless the court determines that his claim is frivolous, unreasonable, or groundless.
The panel affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court's grant of summary judgment to defendant in a concurrently-filed memorandum disposition. The panel remanded for further proceedings.
Court Description: Fair Housing Act / Costs. The panel vacated the district court’s grant of costs to the defendant in an action under the Fair Housing Act, and remanded. Joining the First, Second, Fourth, and Fifth Circuits, the panel held that in exercising its discretion whether to award costs to a prevailing defendant under the Fair Housing Act’s fee-shifting provision, a district court must apply the Christiansburg standard, which requires the court first to determine whether the plaintiff’s claim was frivolous, unreasonable, or groundless. In a separate, concurrently-filed memorandum disposition, the panel affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the defendant and remanded for further proceedings.
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