E.D. California cuts disability access fee award 10.8% over clerical work | LegalTime AI

E.D. California cuts disability access fee award 10.8% over clerical work

Escobedo v. Blessing-Co,Inc et al, No. 1:24-cv-00390. District Court, E.D. California, Judge Stanley A. Boone. Decided . Read the opinion

Requested
$2,925.50
Awarded
$2,610
Cut
10.8%$315.50

Disability access · Americans with Disabilities Act

What happened

The fee applicant in an Americans with Disabilities Act case asked for $2,925.50. The court awarded $2,610, a reduction of $315.50, or 10.8%. The court found that 1.7 hours of the billed time was clerical in nature and reduced the award for those entries accordingly. The figures do not include costs.

What the court said

Clerical work billed as legal work
clerical in nature, and therefore will reduce the fee awards for those entries accordingly

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 describe clerical activity even when the overall reduction is modest.

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

Escobedo v. Blessing-Co,Inc, No. 1:24-cv-00390 (E.D. Cal. Nov. 21, 2024)

See hourly rates the E.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.

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