D. Oregon cuts fee award 29.8%, including for clerical work

What happened

The fee applicant sought $28,115 in sanctions under Rule 37(a)(5), including costs, for 40.6 hours. Judge Karin J. Immergut awarded $19,742.55, a reduction of $8,372.45 or 29.8%. The court excluded 2.7 hours for tasks not compensable under the rule, including clerical work, conferral, discovery analysis, and communication with the defendant's client. The court also reduced the hourly rate for two associate attorneys because defense counsel did not justify rates above the 95th percentile for Portland attorneys with the same experience.

What the court said

2.7 hours were spent on matters that are not compensable under Rule 37(a)(5), such as clerical tasks, conferral to resolve the dispute, discovery analysis, and communication with Defendant’s client.

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

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts will separate clerical tasks from legal work on a fee petition and will reduce rates when the fee applicant does not provide information supporting the requested hourly rate.

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. Oregon approves and attorney fee motions in Oregon federal courts.

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