E.D. California cuts disability access fee award 8.6% over clerical work | LegalTime AI

E.D. California cuts disability access fee award 8.6% over clerical work

Acosta v. All American Glass, Inc. et al, No. 1:25-cv-00240. District Court, E.D. California, Judge Jennifer L. Thurston. Decided . Read the opinion

Requested
$2,065
Awarded
$1,888
Cut
8.6%$177

Disability access · Americans with Disabilities Act

What happened

The plaintiff in an Americans with Disabilities Act case sought $2,065 in attorney fees. The court awarded $1,888, a reduction of $177 or 8.6%. The court identified 1.8 hours of entries that it found to be generally clerical work and reduced those entries to 0 hours. The figures do not include costs.

What the court said

Clerical work billed as legal work
The Court finds these entries to be generally clerical work and recommends reducing them to 0 hours.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts will separate clerical tasks from legal work when reviewing time records on a fee petition, and will reduce entries that describe clerical activity even when the overall award is modest.

How to keep this out of your fee petition

  • Leave purely clerical work off the fee petition.
  • Describe paralegal tasks so the substantive work is clear.
  • Split mixed entries into their substantive and clerical parts.

Cite this ruling

Acosta v. All American Glass, Inc., No. 1:25-cv-00240 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 18, 2025)

See hourly rates the E.D. California approves and attorney fee motions in California 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.

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