E.D. New York cuts civil rights fee award 30% over missing contemporaneous records | LegalTime AI

E.D. New York cuts civil rights fee award 30% over missing contemporaneous records

A.H., an infant under the age of 18 years by his Mother and Natural Guardian, JOAN ASLARONA v. The Board of Education of The City of New York et al, No. 1:23-cv-04509. District Court, E.D. New York, Judge Cogan. Decided . Read the opinion

The court applied the reductions below but did not state requested and awarded totals we could check against the opinion, so no overall percentage is shown.

Civil rights · 42 U.S.C. § 1988

What happened

Counsel for the plaintiff in a civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 sought attorney fees. The court found that counsel had not provided adequate contemporaneous records supporting the hours claimed. On that basis, the court reduced the requested fee by 30%, a reduction of $47,499.90. The court applied the reduction to the total fee and identified no other ground for reducing the request.

What the court said

Missing contemporaneous records · 30% reduction · $47,499.90
because plaintiff's counsel has failed to provide adequate contemporaneous records, the Court reduces his requested fee by 30%, to $110,833.10

Why it matters

The ruling shows that a fee applicant's time records are the evidentiary basis for the request, and that a court may apply a percentage cut to the whole fee when contemporaneous documentation is missing, rather than parsing individual entries.

How to keep this out of your fee petition

  • Record time the same day the work happens.
  • Keep the original records, not only a cleaned-up summary.
  • Be able to show when each entry was created.

Cite this ruling

A.H., an infant under the age of 18 years by his Mother and Natural Guardian, JOAN ASLARONA v. The Board of Education of The City of New York, No. 1:23-cv-04509 (E.D.N.Y. July 9, 2024)

See hourly rates the E.D. New York approves and attorney fee motions in New York federal courts.

Figures and quotes are taken from the opinion and checked against its text. Spot an error? Email team@legaltime.ai with the case name and we will correct it. Summaries of public court opinions. Not legal advice.

More rulings like this

All rulings in the Fee Cut Tracker