Winston v. O’Brien

Dist. Ct. erred in assessing attorney fees under 42 USC section 1988 against City in plaintiff’s section 1983 action alleging that defendant-police officer used excessive force while detaining plaintiff at police station, where jury awarded plaintiff $1 in compensatory damages and $7,500 in punitive damages against police officer. While plaintiff sought such fees under section 9-102 of Ill. Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act, section 9-102 granted City discretion in choosing to indemnify plaintiff for attorney fees generated in plaintiff's action against police officer, which it was not required to do in instant case.