N.D. Texas cuts commercial fee award 20%, including for missing contemporaneous records

What happened

Akerman, LLP sought $39,946.50 in fees under a contract fee clause for Gilman v. Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing. The magistrate judge recommended awarding $31,946.50, a $8,000 reduction of 20%. The court excluded 25 hours because there were no invoices, time sheets, or other records showing how those hours were spent, leaving inadequate documentation to review reasonableness. It also excluded any award for litigating post-judgment motions because Shellpoint attached no documentation justifying those amounts. The figures do not include costs.

What the court said

Without invoices, time sheets, or other record of how these hours were spent, there is inadequate documentation for the Court to meaningfully review the reasonableness of these hours, and the Court should exclude them from the lodestar rate.

The court also reduced the award for: other.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that a fee applicant must support each time entry with contemporaneous records. Where hours lack invoices or time sheets, the court excluded them rather than estimating a reasonable value. It also declined to award fees for post-judgment motion work without documentation, reinforcing that unsupported entries can be removed from the lodestar.

How to keep this out of your fee petition

• Record time the same day the work happens.
• Keep the original records, not only a cleaned-up summary.
• Be able to show when each entry was created.

Cite this ruling

See hourly rates the N.D. Texas approves and attorney fee motions in Texas 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.