Fifth Circuit cuts wage and hour fee award 22.2%, including for clerical work

What happened

The fee applicant in this Fair Labor Standards Act case sought $241,987.32 in fees and costs, covering 670.6 hours. The magistrate judge recommended reducing the hourly rate, and the district court adopted that recommendation. The district court also applied a 10 percent reduction to the total hours to account for administrative work billed as legal work. The Fifth Circuit affirmed, leaving an award of $188,164.32, a reduction of $53,823.00, or 22.2 percent, with 603.54 hours awarded. The figures include costs.

What the court said

BRR’s argument fails to account for the district court’s 10 percent reduction to account for billed administrative work.

The court also reduced the award for: hourly rate reduced.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that appellate courts will defer to a district court's assessment of time records, including a percentage cut for administrative tasks billed as legal work, even when the applicant disputes the basis for the reduction. It confirms that fee awards can be trimmed for both rate and recordkeeping issues without a line-by-line analysis.

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

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.