High Court Hears Argument Over Whether Preliminary Injunctions Create 'Prevailing Party' for Fee Awards

At oral argument in Lackey v. Stinney (No. 23621), lawyers and justices wrestled with whether a preliminary injunction can make a litigant a "prevailing party" entitled to attorneys' fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988. Counsel for the petitioner urged the Court to adopt a bright-line rule that a preliminary injunction (PI) is temporary and does not create prevailing-party status; opposing counsel argued that an unreversed favorable judgment and tangible relief can produce that result.