S.D. Florida cuts disability access fee award 11.8%, including for clerical work

What happened

The fee applicant sought $9,085 for 26.7 hours in an Americans with Disabilities Act case. The court awarded $8,015 for 20.9 hours, a reduction of $1,070 or 11.8%. It cut 3.7 hours by two-thirds as excessive, disallowed $195 for 1.3 hours of legal assistant clerical work, and reduced 2.0 hours spent litigating the fee award. The figures do not include costs.

What the court said

The $195 for legal assistant services are not compensable because they are for clerical work not traditionally done by an attorney.

The court also reduced the award for: excessive hours, fees on fees.

Why it matters

The ruling shows courts will separate clerical tasks from legal work and trim time spent on the fee petition itself, so entries should distinguish compensable attorney tasks from administrative ones and account for fees-on-fees time.

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.