The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on Monday upheld an award of $1,143,627.96 in fees and $27,484.15 in litigation expenses for the League of Women Voters of Missouri against Missouri Secretary of State John Ashcroft in a dispute over voter registration.

The League of Women Voters sued under in 2018 under Section 5 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, eventually obtaining a preliminary injunction that required Ashcroft to send thousands of voter registration forms and to make changes to Missouri’s voter registration procedures prior to the 2018 midterm election.

Following the preliminary injunction and later settlement, Missouri appealed the award of legal fees and costs to the League of Women Voters, arguing that attorneys’ billing records were vague and that the attorneys logged excessive hours. However, the Eighth Circuit found that the trial court had closely scrutinized the attorneys’ billing records and that the attorneys had voluntarily reduced the number of hours on the matter. Ultimately, the court ruled that the attorneys’ fees were reasonable and that the trial court judge had not abused his discretion in awarding those fees and costs to the League of Women Voters, based on his consideration of factors like the experience of the lawyers, the success at early stages of litigation, and the importance of the issues at hand.