608
Opinion of the Court
tory cited by petitioners is at best ambiguous as to the availability of the "catalyst theory" for awarding attorney's fees. Particularly in view of the "American Rule" that attorney's fees will not be awarded absent "explicit statutory authority," such legislative history is clearly insufficient to alter the accepted meaning of the statutory term. Key Tronic, 511 U. S., at 819; see also Hanrahan, supra, at 758 ("[O]nly when a party has prevailed on the merits of at least some of his claims . . . has there been a determination of the 'substantial rights of the parties,' which Congress determined was a necessary foundation for departing from the usual rule in this country that each party is to bear the expense of his own attorney" (quoting H. R. Rep. No. 94-1558, at 8)).
Petitioners finally assert that the "catalyst theory" is necessary to prevent defendants from unilaterally mooting an action before judgment in an effort to avoid an award of attorney's fees. They also claim that the rejection of the "catalyst theory" will deter plaintiffs with meritorious but expensive cases from bringing suit. We are skeptical of these assertions, which are entirely speculative and unsupported by any empirical evidence (e. g., whether the number of suits brought in the Fourth Circuit has declined, in relation to other Circuits, since the decision in S-1 and S-2).
Petitioners discount the disincentive that the "catalyst theory" may have upon a defendant's decision to voluntarily change its conduct, conduct that may not be illegal. "The defendants' potential liability for fees in this kind of litigation can be as significant as, and sometimes even more significant than, their potential liability on the merits," Evans v. Jeff D., 475 U. S. 717, 734 (1986), and the possibility of being assessed attorney's fees may well deter a defendant from altering its conduct.
And petitioners' fear of mischievous defendants only materializes in claims for equitable relief, for so long as the
support a theory of fee shifting untethered to a material alteration in the legal relationship of the parties as defined by our precedents.
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