E.D. Texas cuts commercial fee award 19.4%, including for block billing

What happened

Harper Bates, counsel for the fee applicant, requested $749,719 in fees for 2,036.1 hours in a commercial case. The court awarded $604,624.4, a reduction of $145,094.6, or 19.4%. It applied a 10% reduction to the total fee for block billing, which it placed at the low end of the appropriate range. It applied a further 10% reduction to the lodestar to account for redacted entries. The figures do not include costs.

What the court said

Accordingly, the Court concludes that a reduction on the low-end of the range of 10% is appropriate here.

The court also reduced the award for: other.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that a court may apply a percentage cut to the whole fee for block billing even where the entries are otherwise adequate, and that redacted time entries can draw a separate across-the-board reduction. Both cuts were applied to the total rather than to specific hours.

How to keep this out of your fee petition

• Record one task per entry, each with its own time.
• Write the entry when the work happens, not at the end of the week.
• If a task really is one unit of work, say what it was and what it produced.

Cite this ruling

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