D. Oregon cuts fee award 30.5%, including for block billing

What happened

The fee applicant sought $21,259.50 for 69.7 hours. The court awarded $14,779, a reduction of $6,480.50, or 30.5%. It reduced to zero billing entries it found redundant because of duplicative staffing. It also disallowed any hours block-billed in increments greater than 3 hours, reducing 13.7 hours of Mr. Cowell's time. The court awarded 49.8 hours in total. The figures do not include costs.

What the court said

The Court disallows any hours that are block-billed in increments greater than 3 hours, resulting in a reduction of 13.7 hours of Mr. Cowell's time.

The court also reduced the award for: duplicative staffing.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts will cut time entries that are block-billed in large increments and will eliminate entries that reflect duplicative staffing. Fee applicants should record time in task-specific increments and avoid billing multiple professionals for the same work.

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 D. Oregon approves and attorney fee motions in Oregon 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.