\u3ci\u3eCity of Riverside v. Rivera\u3c/i\u3e, a Windfall for Civil Rights Attorneys

City of Riverside v. Rivera is the Supreme Court\u27s latest attempt to define a reasonable attorney\u27s fee under the Civil Rights Attorney\u27s Fees Awards Act (Fees Act). In Rivera, the Court affirmed a fee award of approximately $245,000 despite the fact that the plaintiffs recovered only $33,350 in damages. In so doing, the Court missed an opportunity to provide a measure of objective force to the definition of a reasonable attorney\u27s fee. The purpose of this Note is to examine the guidelines for determining a reasonable attorney\u27s fee under the Fees Act. First, the Note will examine the legislative history of the Fees Act as well as judicial interpretation of the definition of a reasonable fee. Second, the various opinions filed in Rivera will be outlined and analyzed. Finally, the Note proposes legislative reform that would require a more objective definition of reasonableness