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Keywords

lawsuittortdamagesattorneydepositionappealtrialmotionsummary judgmentcivil rightsjury trial

tortattorneydiscoverywillcorporationappellant

Related Cases

Bogan v. City of Boston, 489 F.3d 417, 67 Fed.R.Serv.3d 1370

Facts

The Bogans alleged that the City of Boston and its officials conducted an illegal inspection of their property to force them to sell it for an economic development project. Following the inspection, which resulted in numerous code violations, the City ordered the Bogans to vacate their home and filed a complaint in Housing Court. The Housing Court later found the inspection to be illegal and vacated most of the violations. The Bogans subsequently filed a federal lawsuit claiming civil rights violations and various torts, leading to a jury trial that awarded them damages on their civil rights claims.

Albertha Bogan and her three children brought an action against the City, Mayor Thomas Menino, Commissioner of Inspectional Services Kevin Joyce, three Inspectional Services employees, the Neighborhood Development Corporation of Grove Hall (NDC), and one of its founding members, Virginia Morrison, claiming violations of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and various torts under Massachusetts law.

Issue

The main legal issues included whether the district court abused its discretion in issuing a protective order preventing the deposition of the mayor, whether the evidence supported the intentional infliction of emotional distress claim, and the appropriateness of the attorney's fees awarded to the Bogans.

The appellants have raised several claims of error, the most important of which concerns circumstances under which a rejected offer of judgment, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 68, will cut off a prevailing party's entitlement to attorney's fees.

Rule

The court applied the standard for protective orders under Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(c), the criteria for summary judgment, and the lodestar method for calculating attorney's fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988.

The court is empowered by Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(c) to grant a protective order from discovery for 'good cause shown.'

Analysis

The court found that the district judge did not abuse his discretion in issuing the protective order for the mayor, as the Bogans failed to demonstrate a sufficient need for his deposition. Additionally, the court agreed with the district judge's conclusion that there was no evidence to support the intentional infliction of emotional distress claim against the mayor. Regarding attorney's fees, the court upheld the magistrate judge's reductions based on limited success and the exclusion of fees for unsuccessful claims.

The Bogans' argument founders because they did not pursue other sources to obtain relevant information before turning to the Mayor.

Conclusion

The Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's rulings, concluding that the protective order was appropriate, the summary judgment on the emotional distress claim was justified, and the attorney's fees were correctly calculated.

We now turn to the Bogans' challenges to the award of fees and costs.

Who won?

The Bogans prevailed in the case, as the court affirmed the district court's judgment in their favor on the civil rights claims.

The jury found in favor of the Bogans on the § 1983 claim against the City, but found in favor of Joyce on the tort claims.

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