S.D. Florida cuts fee award 15%, including for clerical work

What happened

The fee applicant in Century Bank v. M/V SUMMER 69 sought $209,278.50 under a contract fee clause for 688 hours. Judge Ryon M. McCabe awarded $177,886.73, a reduction of $31,391.77 or 15%. The court applied a single 15% cut to the total fee, citing billing records that showed administrative tasks billed as legal work, entries too vague to assess, unnecessary, duplicative or excessive work including multiple partners drafting a summary judgment affidavit, and excessive hours overall.

What the court said

The billing records show numerous instances of billing for purely administrative tasks

The billing records show numerous entries with insufficient detail to assess the reasonableness of the entries, including time billed by BRM on 8/23/23

The court also reduced the award for: duplicative staffing, excessive hours.

Why it matters

The ruling shows a court can apply one across the board percentage cut when time records show several problems at once, rather than adjusting each entry. It also shows that vague descriptions and clerical tasks billed as legal work can reduce a fee award even where the fee rests on a contract clause.

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 S.D. Florida approves and attorney fee motions in Florida 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.