D. Arizona cuts wage and hour fee award 41.2% over clerical work

What happened

The fee applicant in Cruz v. N.V. & Sons Builders Incorporated et al asked the District of Arizona for $14,605.63 in fees and costs under the Fair Labor Standards Act, based on 21.5 hours. Judge Diane J. Humetewa awarded $8,588.50, a reduction of $6,017.13 or 41.2%, with the figures including costs. The court excised 2.2 hours of entries it found clerical and administrative rather than legal, citing precedent from the District, and awarded 19.3 hours.

What the court said

The Court will excise these entries as clerical and administrative in line with precedent from this District.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that district courts will remove time spent on clerical and administrative tasks from a fee award even when it is billed as legal work, and that a small number of such entries can account for a substantial share of the reduction.

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 D. Arizona approves and attorney fee motions in Arizona 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.