S.D. Florida cuts intellectual property fee award 8.9%, including for block billing

What happened

The fee applicant in Goldstein v. Fortador, LLC sought $3,915 for 15.4 hours. The court awarded $3,567, a reduction of $348. It lowered the hourly rates for Ms. Tcacisina and Mr. Gordon, citing circuit caselaw and the difference in experience between them. It also reduced a subset of entries by 40% for block billing and vague entries, finding it could not determine from the record how much time went to each task or whether the tasks were necessary.

What the court said

These problematic entries will be reduced by 40% because there is no way to determine on this record the amount of time counsel spent on each of the specific tasks mentioned in the block-billed entry or whether these tasks were necessary.

These problematic entries will be reduced by 40% because there is no way to determine on this record the amount of time counsel spent on each of the specific tasks mentioned in the block-billed entry or whether these tasks were necessary.

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

Why it matters

The ruling shows courts will cut entries that combine multiple tasks or describe work too generally to review, applying a percentage reduction to the affected entries rather than the whole request. It also shows fee awards turn on the applicant's demonstrated experience and on records specific enough to let the court check each task.

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 S.D. Florida approves and attorney fee motions in Florida 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.