Lackey v. Stinnie

Decided February 25, 2025. John Glover Roberts Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 23-621 · 604 U.S. 192 (2025) · Cited 130 times

Holding

Plaintiffs who gained only preliminary injunctive relief before this action became moot do not qualify as “prevailing part[ies]” eligible for attorney’s fees under 42 U. S. C. §1988(b) because no court conclusively resolved their claims by granting enduring relief on the merits that altered the legal relationship between the parties.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court. Read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 7–2.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Buckhannon Board & Care Home, Inc. v. West Virginia Dept. of Health and Human Resources · 532 U.S. 598 (2001)
• Sole v. Wyner · 551 U.S. 74 (2007)
• Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. v. Wilderness Society · 421 U.S. 240 (1975)
• Farrar v. Hobby · 506 U.S. 103 (1992)
• Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 555 U.S. 7 (2008)
• University of Texas v. Camenisch · 451 U.S. 390 (1981)
• Texas State Teachers Ass'n v. Garland Independent School District · 489 U.S. 782 (1989)
• Hanrahan v. Hampton · 446 U.S. 754 (1980)
• Hensley v. Eckerhart · 461 U.S. 424 (1983)
• CRST Van Expedited, Inc. v. Equal Emp't Opportunity Comm'n · 578 U.S. 419 (2016)
• Lefemine v. Wideman · 568 U.S. 1 (2012)
• Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc. · 528 U.S. 167 (2000)
• Maher v. Gagne · 448 U.S. 122 (1980)
• Hewitt v. Helms · 482 U.S. 755 (1987)
• Local Number 93, International Ass'n of Firefighters v. City of Cleveland · 478 U.S. 501 (1986)
• Rhodes v. Stewart · 488 U.S. 1 (1988)
• Morissette v. United States · 342 U.S. 246 (1952)
• Bradley v. School Bd. of Richmond · 416 U.S. 696 (1974)
• Pennsylvania v. Delaware Valley Citizens' Council for Clean Air · 478 U.S. 546 (1986)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Henson v. Santander Consumer USA Inc. · 582 U.S. 79 (2017)
• Rotkiske v. Klemm · 589 U.S. 8 (2019)
• Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. · 579 U.S. 197 (2016)
• United States v. Hansen · 599 U.S. 762 (2023)
• Arcambel v. Wiseman · 3 U.S. 306 (1796)
• FBI v. Fikre · 601 U.S. 234 (2024)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

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John Glover Roberts Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2025). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).