Waiver of or abandonment of attorney’s fees entitlement for prevailing party must be specifically indicated in settlement agreement or the right to recovery remains.

The plaintiffs brought an action under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination and Fair Housing Act premised upon claims of religious discrimination. Following the entry of a Consent Decree, which provided the plaintiffs with some relief, they filed an application for an award of attorney’s fees and costs. The defendant opposed the application, alleging, in part, that the claim for attorney’s fees had been waived by the fact that the decree encompassed the resolution of all claims. In granting the plaintiffs’ application and awarding legal fees of approximately $86,000, Judge Wolfson noted that the Consent Decree failed to note that the settlement subsumed any claim for attorney’s fees and that this fact preserved the claim. The onus is upon the non-prevailing party to ensure that the scope of the settlement is set forth in the agreement.

Case Law Alerts, 1st Quarter, January 2020 is prepared by Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin to provide information on recent developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. Copyright © 2020 Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, all rights reserved. This article may not be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm.