Tierney V. Vahle

The Tierneys and two of their four children brought this wide-ranging civil-rights suit (42 U.S.C. § 1983) against 19 individuals and two institutions--the public school district of Quincy, Illinois, and a private swimming club in Quincy--charging retaliation and conspiracy to retaliate against the family for the exercise by Mr. and Mrs. Tierney of their right of free speech. The district court granted motions by the defendants Debbie and Doug Olson and Chet Vahle to dismiss the complaint against them for failure to state a claim and also ordered the plaintiffs to pay some $2,400 to Debbie Olson to reimburse her for the attorneys' fees that she incurred in defending against what the judge ruled was a frivolous claim. The judge made the dismissals and the sanction order final judgments under Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b), enabling an immediate appeal by the plaintiffs. They challenge the dismissal of Vahle as a defendant (but not the dismissal of the Olsons) and the award of attorneys' fees.