D. Arizona cuts intellectual property fee award 11.2%, including for clerical work | LegalTime AI

D. Arizona cuts intellectual property fee award 11.2%, including for clerical work

Davalos et al v. Unknown Party et al, No. 2:24-cv-02298. District Court, D. Arizona, Judge Sharad H. Desai. Decided . Read the opinion

Requested
$54,017
Awarded
$47,981.63
Cut
11.2%$6,035.37

Intellectual property · Sanctions · Fee applicant's counsel: Hunter, Humphrey & Yavitz, PLC

What happened

The fee applicant, represented by Hunter, Humphrey & Yavitz, PLC, requested $54,017 in sanctions. The court awarded $47,981.63, a reduction of $6,035.37. The reductions included $2,548.37, agreed to by Foutz Properties to account for overly collaborative teamwork, $302 for clerical work billed as legal work, and $3,185 for time entries between March 11, 2025, and April 3, 2025 relating to preparation of materials for the Quintanillas.

What the court said

Clerical work billed as legal work · $302
Accordingly, I will reduce the fee award by $302 for clerical work.

The court also reduced the award for: duplicative staffing, unrelated claims.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts will separate clerical tasks from legal work when reviewing time records on a fee petition, and will reduce the award for entries that do not reflect legal services.

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

Davalos v. Unknown Party, No. 2:24-cv-02298 (D. Ariz. Oct. 6, 2026)

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.

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