Court Ruling — C.D. Cal, 2025 #10748998

**Court Denies Attorney's Fees in Case Against Small Business Administration** A worker sued the Small Business Administration (SBA) over an employment-related dispute. During the legal proceedings, the worker initially won a partial victory when the court sent the case back to a lower level for further review. Based on this early win, the worker asked the court to order the SBA to pay their attorney's fees under a law called the Equal Access to Justice Act, which sometimes requires the government to cover legal costs when citizens successfully challenge federal agencies. However, the court ultimately ruled in favor of the SBA on the main issues of the case. Because the SBA won the final judgment, the court denied the worker's request for attorney's fees. The court explained that even though the worker had achieved a temporary victory earlier in the process, they were not considered the "prevailing party" since they lost the case overall. **What This Means for Workers:** This ruling shows that winning early battles in a lawsuit against the government doesn't guarantee you'll recover your legal costs. To get attorney's fees paid under federal law, workers typically need to win their case completely, not just achieve partial or temporary victories along the way.