E.D. Louisiana cuts employment fee award 9.2%, including for clerical work

What happened

The fee applicant, Wallace Meyaski, L.L.C., sought $6,010 in sanctions fees for 24.45 hours. The court awarded $5,460, a reduction of $550 or 9.2%. It lowered the associate hourly rate, excluded 0.25 hours of clerical work, excluded 1.5 hours of duplicative partner time, reduced one time entry, and excluded a call with the clerk of court as administrative work.

What the court said

For these reasons, the Court finds that the .25 hours completed by Wallace under this entry should be excluded.

The allotted time shall be reduced to .30 from .50 hours.

Finally, the telephone call with the clerk of court on March 30, 2026 by Michael about dates must also be excluded because this is administrative work that a non-lawyer could perform.

The court also reduced the award for: hourly rate reduced, duplicative staffing.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts will separate clerical and administrative tasks from legal work and exclude them, and will also trim duplicative staffing and adjust hourly rates, even in a modest sanctions fee request.

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

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