Attorneys Get Fees After Proving State Discriminated
A Missoula judge has ordered the Montana Department of Justice and its Department of Motor Vehicles to pay more than $70,000 in total attorney’s fees to three different sets of attorneys, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana, because it won a case that showed the state was wrong by refusing to grant a driver’s license to a nonbinary resident.
In court, Missoula County District Judge Shane Vannatta said that the Montana Attorney General’s Office had misconstrued state law and refused to issue a driver’s license to nonbinary resident, who happened to be a minor. Vannatta ruled that refusing to issue the driver’s license was solely based upon sex discrimination because the minor had otherwise met all the criteria, but objected to having to specify male or female. The Montana Department of Justice and DMV refused to accommodate the nonbinary designation.
“The DOJ does not cite to law that only an applicant that can indicate that they are either male or female is a ‘qualified’ applicant,” Vannatta said.
After Vannatta ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, the Montana Attorney General’s Office also challenged the judge’s decision to award attorneys’ fees in the case.
The court ordered the state to promptly pay $73,371 in attorneys’ fees and costs.
In his decision, he pointed to Montana law which said awarding attorneys’ fees does more than just pay attorneys; it also encourages residents to file civil rights lawsuits that have merit.
“There are no special circumstances that would render an award of attorney fees unjust,” the judge said.
In a separate legal battle, a motion was filed in Missoula District Court on Wednesday over Senate Bill 437, passed in 2025 by the Montana Legislature, that seeks to strictly change the definition of “male” and “female” throughout state law. That bill was held by Speaker of the House Brandon Ler for nearly a year (the Legislature hasn’t convened in approximately a year) in order to avoid legal scrutiny. A similar bill, passed by the Legislature two years earlier, had been nearly identical, but was struck down as unconstitutional.
