D. Arizona cuts wage and hour fee award 6.2% over clerical work

What happened

The fee applicant in an FLSA wage and hour case asked for $5,785 in attorney fees for 13 hours of work. The court awarded $5,429, a reduction of $356 or 6.2%. The court excluded 0.8 hours billed by Mr. Bendau, finding those entries purely administrative or clerical in nature rather than legal work. The figures do not include costs.

What the court said

The Court will exclude 0.8 hours billed by Mr. Bendau, as the Court deems the following entries as purely administrative or clerical in nature

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 administrative activity even when the overall cut is small.

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.