N.D. Texas cuts commercial fee award 25%, including for block billing

What happened

Hall Griffin LLP sought $742,434.66 in fees under a contract fee clause. The court awarded $556,826, a reduction of $185,608.66. It cut $46,294.57 for fees on unrelated claims and $11,625 for block billing, which the court said obscured the amount of unrecoverable fees. It also found vague entries and duplicative staffing, then reduced the lodestar by 25% and applied a 0.75 multiplier.

What the court said

many of the billing entries reflect block billing—i.e., a single block of time attributed to multiple discrete tasks—and thus hamper the ability of the Court to discern the exact amount of unrecoverable fees.

the vagueness of certain entries in Movants' billing records, discussed previously, undermines the Court's ability to determine the extent to which the lodestar should be reduced

The court also reduced the award for: unrelated claims, duplicative staffing.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that block billing and vague entries can cost a fee applicant both specific deductions and a percentage cut to the whole lodestar. Courts need entries detailed enough to separate recoverable from unrecoverable work, and a record that does not allow that separation can support an across the board reduction.

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 N.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.