District of Columbia cuts commercial fee award 42.9%, including for vague entries

What happened

Shapiro, Lifschitz and Schram, P.C. sought $1,302,200.80 in fees and costs under a contract fee clause. The court awarded $743,184.54, a reduction of $559,016.26 or 42.9%. The court cited vague entries, block billing, unrelated claims, excessive hours, duplicative staffing, clerical work billed as legal work, reduced paralegal rates, and limited success, ultimately awarding 50 percent of what was billed.

What the court said

Mahoney’s hours far, far exceed those of any other person who billed on this case, the Court concludes that his lack of detail warrants a fairly substantial decrease in the lodestar.

the extensive blocking together of undetailed entries does not permit the Court to determine whether the amount of hours Plaintiffs submit is reasonable, and the Court will significantly decrease Plaintiffs’ award for attorney hours accordingly.

the Court acknowledges there was some overbilling for clerical work, but it accounts for only a very small fraction of the Court’s overall reduction in Plaintiffs’ award.

The court also reduced the award for: unrelated claims, excessive hours, duplicative staffing, hourly rate reduced, limited success.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts will reduce fee awards when time entries lack sufficient detail or are block billed, making it difficult to assess reasonableness. It also confirms that recordkeeping problems can combine with other factors, such as limited success, to produce substantial cuts.

How to keep this out of your fee petition

• Name the task, the document or person involved, and the purpose.
• Avoid stock phrases that could describe any day in any matter.
• Keep privileged detail general, but specific enough to show the work.

Cite this ruling

See hourly rates the District of Columbia approves and attorney fee motions in District of Columbia 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.