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

What happened

The plaintiff sought $9,085 in attorney fees under the Americans with Disabilities Act after prevailing in an access case. Judge Aileen M. Cannon awarded $8,015, a reduction of $1,070 or 11.8%, cutting billed hours from 26.7 to 20.9. The court reduced certain hours by two-thirds as excessive, disallowed $195 for 1.3 hours of legal assistant clerical work, and cut 2.0 hours spent litigating the fee request.

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 must distinguish compensable attorney tasks from administrative support and reflect reasonable hours.

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.