On April 9, 2026, Judge Gonzalez Rogers approved the litigation fees settlement for the FCI Dublin litigation, including an significant EAJA rate adjustment for lawyers on the case for RBGG and co-counsel. An EAJA rate adjustment is an increase to the statutory cap on attorney fees—set at $125 per hour under the Equal Access to Justice Act—to account for inflation, specifically the cost of living (COLA) or special factors. The special factors include cases where counsel brings distinctive knowledge and specialized skill not available elsewhere and necessary to the case, which was the situation in the hard fought FCI Dublin litigation.
According to Judge Gonzalez Rogers, “This is specialized litigation. The Court finds that the hours claimed were reasonably incurred and that the rates applied beyond the EAJA statutory cap are justified by the attorneys’ distinctive knowledge and specialized skills not available elsewhere. The Court further finds that class counsel represented their clients with skill and diligence and obtained an excellent result for the class, taking into account the possible outcomes and risks of proceeding to trial. Class counsel assumed significant risk of nonpayment in taking on complex litigation on behalf of incarcerated individuals and secured a first-ever appointment of a Special Master to oversee operations within a single federal prison.”
About the FCI Dublin Litigation
On August 16, 2023, eight survivors of staff sexual abuse and retaliation at Federal Correctional Institution Dublin–a federal women’s prison in Dublin, California–and the California Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP) filed a class action lawsuit against the Bureau of Prisons, FCI Dublin officials, and several individual officers. The case was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The plaintiffs are represented by Rights Behind Bars (RBB), Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP (RBGG), and the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice (CCIJ).
Following months of intensive negotiations, the parties reached an unprecedented Consent Decree filed with the court on December 6, 2024. The Consent Decree was approved on February 27, 2025 and went into effect on March 31, 2025. It is currently being monitored and enforced at over a dozen federal women’s prisons which house individuals who were formerly at FCI Dublin, for the next two years. The agreement mandates robust oversight and remedies for issues related to staff sexual and physical abuse, retaliation, medical care, and case work.