Geiser v. KernCountyCommunity College Dist.
Plaintiff, a wheelchair user, is a faculty member at Bakersfield Community College. He sued the college and the Kern Community College District for disability discrimination, alleging a lack of wheelchair-accessible bathrooms. A jury rejected a claim based on the lack of an accessible bathroom near plaintiffs office, but plaintiff prevailed on a claim based on the lack of accessible bathrooms at a special event on campus. The jury awarded plaintiff $37,500 in compensatory damages and the court awarded him $167,202.20 in attorneys fees. Defendants appeal from the fee award, claiming it should have been reduced because plaintiffs success was only partial. Court reverse the fee award and remand since we cannot be sure from the appellate record that the trial court applied the correct legal standard when exercising its discretion. Specifically, it is not clear whether the court recognized that partial success standing alone can justify a reduction in the award if the court decides under the circumstances that it should. Remand is necessary to permit the trial court to exercise its discretion in light of the correct standard.
Comments on Geiser v. KernCountyCommunity College Dist.