No Fees!

The Ninth Circuit, in a split decision, affirmed the decision of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, which declined to award attorneys' fees to the parents of a child afflicted with the cri du chat genetic defect. The District Court had found that the school district had prevailed on the primary issues in the case and that the parents had only prevailed on minor issues. The parents, however, had prevailed in finding that their child had been denied FAPE for a period of time and the child had been awarded compensatory educational services. They had lost on a number of procedural challenges that they had made. Dissenting, Judge Wardlaw argued that the parents' success had been significant and warranted an award of attorneys' fees.

The decision in Park v. Anaheim Union High School District can be found here.