W.D. Oklahoma cuts employment fee award 71.2%, including for block billing

What happened

The fee applicant sought $5,590 in sanctions fees for 26 hours of work. The court awarded $1,612.50, a reduction of $3,977.50, or 71.2%, and 10 hours. It cut 16 hours because defense counsel had not sufficiently explained how the depositions of the plaintiff and a key witness were caused by the plaintiff's failures to cooperate with discovery. The court also applied a 25% reduction to a subset of entries to account for block billing.

What the court said

the Court will apply a 25% reduction to account for the issue of block-billing.

The court also reduced the award for: other.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that a fee petition must connect each claimed task to the conduct that justifies sanctions, and that block-billed entries can draw a percentage cut even when the overall request is modest. Courts will reduce hours that are not shown to flow from the sanctioned conduct.

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 W.D. Oklahoma approves and attorney fee motions in Oklahoma 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.