Plaintiff's retaliation claim was
frivolous, but race discrimination claim was not. Employer is entitled to
attorney's fees as to the retaliation claim only.
Quintana v. Jenne, 414 F.3d 1306 (11th Cir. June 28, 2005) - This is a Title
VII and 42 U.S.C. Section 1981 action alleging race discrimination and
retaliation. The plaintiff's race and retaliation claims were dismissed on
summary judgment and no appeal was taken. The basis of the dismissal of the
retaliation claim was that the plaintiff had not established a prima
facie case. The basis of the dismissal of the race discrimination claim
was that the plaintiff had established a prima facie case, but had not
presented sufficient evidence that the proffered reason for the adverse
employment action was pretextual. The district court found that both claims
were frivolous and the employer was awarded $73,890 in attorney's fees. The
plaintiff appeals. In determining whether a claim is frivolous, the Court
considers the following factors: (1) whether the plaintiff established a prima facie case; (2) whether the defendant offered to settle; and (3)
whether the trial court dismissed the case prior to trial or held a
full-blown trial on the merits. These factors are guidelines and not hard
and fast rules. With respect to the retaliation claim, the first and third
factors support the finding of frivolousness. There was an offer of
settlement (the second factor), but there is no evidence as to the amount of
the offer. Without that information, the second factor does not support
either party. Based upon a review of these three factors, the Court upholds
the finding of frivolousness as to the retaliation claim. But with respect
to the discrimination claim, the district court found that the plaintiff had
established a prima facie case. In the Eleventh Circuit, it is an
abuse of discretion for a district court to find that a lawsuit is frivolous
where the plaintiff established a prima facie case. Therefore, the district
court's finding of frivolousness is reversed as to this claim. The question
then becomes whether attorney's fees can be apportioned and awarded for one
frivolous claim, and the Court answers this question in the affirmative. In
reaching this conclusion, the Court refers to cases from the First and
Seventh Circuits that are directly on point. The case is remanded to the
district court to determine the amount of fees that should be awarded on the
retaliation claim.
