133159P.pdf   12/22/2014  EEOC  v.  CRST Van Expedited, Inc.
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  13-3159
   U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa - Cedar Rapids   
   [PUBLISHED] [Smith, Author, with Riley, Chief Judge, and Kelly, Circuit 
   Judge] 
   Civil case - Attorneys' fees. For the court's prior opinion in the matter, 
   see EEOC v. CRST Van Expedited, 679 F.3d 657 (8th Cir. 2012). Appeal of an 
   order granting CRST more than $4.6 million in attorneys' fees, costs and 
   expenses. Where the district court dismissed 67 of the EEOC's claims for 
   failure to satisfy Title VII's presuit obligations, that dismissal was not 
   a ruling on the merits and CRST was not a prevailing party on those claims 
   and was not entitled to an award of attorneys' fees on the claims; nor was 
   CRST entitled to an award regarding dismissal of the EEOC's purported 
   pattern-or-practice claim; a prevailing Title VII defendant is not 
   entitled to attorneys' fees unless the court determines the plaintiff's 
   claims were frivolous, unreasonable or groundless; here the district court 
   did not make such particularized findings with respect to the remaining 
   counts brought by the EEOC, and the case must be remanded for such 
   findings on these counts; the same analysis applies to costs associated 
   with the EEOC's appeal. Reversed and remanded for further proceedings.