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Michael R. Mitchell v. City of Los Angeles, and Ira Reiner, City Attorney John T. Neville, Assistant City Attorney Raymond J. Fuentes, Deputy City Attorney Richard William Papke, Los Angeles Police Officer Joseph Charles Brazas, Los Angeles Police Officer Gordon Cohn
Citation: 753 F.2d 86Docket: 83-6242
Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; January 23, 1985; Federal Appellate Court
Michael R. Mitchell filed a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988 for attorney's fees related to a settlement involving his former client, Cohn, and sought declaratory judgments under 28 U.S.C. § 2201. The district court dismissed Mitchell's complaint against the city, which was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit. During settlement negotiations in June 1982, Mitchell proposed a settlement of $4,400, leaving attorney's fees for court determination, but the city attorney insisted that attorney's fees be included in the settlement. Cohn ultimately agreed to settle for $4,000, which both parties intended to cover all claims, including attorney's fees. This intent was explicitly stated in the stipulation of dismissal, where both parties waived claims for attorney's fees. Mitchell did not claim a mutual mistake regarding the settlement and contended that he had an independent right to pursue attorney's fees from the city. The court refrained from deciding if an attorney can be considered the real party in interest under § 1988. However, the court noted that the stipulation and settlement agreement were binding and that Mitchell had not appealed the dismissal order, meaning he could not contest the waiver of attorney's fees. The ruling was affirmed, emphasizing that Mitchell could not challenge the prior dismissal judgment.