E.D. Louisiana cuts commercial fee award 0.6% over clerical work

What happened

The fee applicant sought $141,064 under a contract fee clause. The court awarded $140,220.80, a reduction of $843.20. It found that some paralegal time was clerical work billed as legal work and reduced the paralegal hours by 10%, or 5.27 hours, leaving 47.38 hours. The figures do not include costs.

What the court said

Accordingly, the Court reduces the paralegal hours by 10% (or 5.27 hours), for a total of 47.38 hours.

Why it matters

The ruling shows courts will trim time records that mix clerical tasks into paralegal billing, even when the overall reduction is small. A percentage cut to a subset of entries lets the court address the issue without reviewing each line, and the modest dollar effect shows the remedy tracks the size of the problem.

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.