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VIRGINIA DEPT. OF HEALTH AND HUMAN RESOURCES Ginsburg, J., dissenting
later, in Hewitt v. Helms, 482 U. S. 755 (1987), the Court suggested that fees might be awarded the plaintiff who "obtain[ed] relief without [the] benefit of a formal judgment." Id., at 760. The Court explained: "If the defendant, under the pressure of the lawsuit, pays over a money claim before the judicial judgment is pronounced," or "if the defendant, under pressure of [a suit for declaratory judgment], alters his conduct (or threatened conduct) towards the plaintiff," i. e., conduct "that was the basis for the suit, the plaintiff will have prevailed." Id., at 761. I agree, and would apply that analysis to this case.
The Court posits a " 'merit' requirement of our prior cases." Ante, at 606. Maher, however, affirmed an award of attorney's fees based on a consent decree that "did not purport to adjudicate [plaintiff's] statutory or constitutional claims." 448 U. S., at 126, n. 8. The decree in Maher "explicitly stated that 'nothing [therein was] intended to constitute an admission of fault by either party.' " Ibid. The catalyst rule, in short, conflicts with none of "our prior holdings," ante, at 605.14
14 The Court repeatedly quotes passages from Hanrahan v. Hampton, 446 U. S., at 757-758, stating that to "prevail," plaintiffs must receive relief "on the merits." Ante, at 603, 604, 608. Nothing in Hanrahan, however, declares that relief "on the merits" requires a "judicial imprimatur." Ante, at 605. As the Court acknowledges, Hanrahan concerned an interim award of fees, after plaintiff succeeded in obtaining nothing more than reversal of a directed verdict. See ante, at 605. At that juncture, plaintiff had obtained no change in defendant's behavior, and the suit's ultimate winner remained undetermined. There is simply no inconsistency between Hanrahan, denying fees when a plaintiff might yet obtain no real benefit, and the catalyst rule, allowing fees when a plaintiff obtains the practical result she sought in suing. Indeed, the harmony between the catalyst rule and Hanrahan is suggested by Hanrahan itself; like Maher v. Gagne, 448 U. S. 122, 129 (1980), Hanrahan quoted the Senate Report recognizing that parties may prevail "through a consent judgment or without formally obtaining relief." 446 U. S., at 757 (quoting S. Rep. No. 94-1011, at 5) (emphasis added). Hanrahan also selected for citation
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