E.D. New York cuts intellectual property fee award 34.9%, including for block billing

What happened

The fee applicant in an intellectual property case asked for $94,310 for 223 hours. The court found some hourly rates reasonable and others above the district's reasonable rates. It also found 223 hours excessive even accounting for service issues and multiple infringement and state law claims, and applied a 25% reduction to the billed hours. The court further found several redacted and block-billed entries in the contemporaneous billing records and applied another 25% reduction to the billed hours. The court awarded $61,359.70, a reduction of $32,950.30.

What the court said

Counsel’s contemporaneous billing records also reveal several redacted and block-billed entries. ... the Court finds that a 25% reduction in the billed hours is warranted here.

The court also reduced the award for: hourly rate reduced, excessive hours.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that block billing can draw a percentage cut to billed hours even when it is one of several grounds for reduction. Courts also scrutinize hourly rates against district norms and the overall number of hours, so a fee petition can lose value on rate, hours and recordkeeping grounds at once.

How to keep this out of your fee petition

• Record one task per entry, each with its own time.
• Write the entry when the work happens, not at the end of the week.
• If a task really is one unit of work, say what it was and what it produced.

Cite this ruling

See hourly rates the E.D. New York approves and attorney fee motions in New York 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.