N.D. California cuts intellectual property fee award 4.9%, including for clerical work

What happened

The fee applicant requested $64,676.22 in fees and costs. The magistrate judge recommended awarding $61,526.70, including costs, a reduction of $3,149.52 or 4.9%. The court recommended disallowing $596.90 in fees for calendaring time entries that it treated as clerical work rather than legal work. It also recommended disallowing travel costs and a travel time entry, a total travel deduction of $2,552.62.

What the court said

the undersigned RECOMMENDS disallowing an award of the fees associated with these calendaring time entries, which yields a total deduction for these entries of $596.90.

The court also reduced the award for: travel time.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts will separate clerical tasks and travel from compensable legal work on a fee petition, deducting those entries even when the overall reduction is modest. It also shows that travel costs and travel time can be disallowed together.

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. California approves and attorney fee motions in California 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.