N.D. Texas cuts civil rights fee award, including for clerical work

What happened

Siri & Glimstad LLP sought fees under 42 U.S.C. section 1988 on 1,871.3 hours. The court awarded 1,097.96 hours. It eliminated 75.6 hours for unrelated claims, cut fees litigation hours by 20%, and halved several travel entries. It deducted clerical work from several timekeepers, including 4.8, 8.3, 3.0, and smaller amounts, and applied a 10% deduction to one timekeeper's hours for vague entries.

What the court said

The Court finds that 0.7 hours of clerical work should be deducted from her hours on the fee motion.

A 10% deduction in Cox’s hours, applied after all other deductions, is appropriate to account for the vagueness of her entries.

Accordingly, 4.7 hours are deducted from her hours on Chrisman’s claims and 0.1 hour is deducted from her hours on the fee motion.

the Court has identified 0.7 hours of clerical work that are thus deducted from Smith’s hours on the fee motion.

However, the Court does find that 3.0 hours billed are non-compensable clerical work because they relate to preparing or assembling appendices.

Further, the Court found one 0.1 entry of non-billable clerical work, correspondence about service, which it deducts from Sullivan’s hours.

The Court has identified 7.3 hours related to clerical tasks that must be deducted from Mannella’s hours on Chrisman’s claims and 1.0 hour that must be deducted from her time on the fee motion.

The Court’s review of the records revealed 0.4 hours of non-billable clerical work, which it deducts from her hours.

The court also reduced the award for: unrelated claims, fees on fees, travel time, travel time, travel time, travel time.

Why it matters

The ruling shows courts will separate clerical tasks from legal work and reduce travel entries that do not show work was performed. It also shows that vague time entries can draw a percentage cut even after other deductions, so the records must support each billed task.

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 N.D. Texas approves and attorney fee motions in Texas federal courts.

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