Bankr. W.D. Texas cuts bankruptcy fee award 91.5%, including for block billing

What happened

The Chapter 7 Trustee sought $260,000 in sanctions fees. The court awarded $22,127.50, a reduction of $237,872.50 or 91.5%. It excluded entries for work on the debtor's underlying bankruptcy petition and the initial adversary filing because they were unrelated to the events that led to sanctions. It also did not consider block-billed entries where the time spent on enforcing the court's orders was unclear.

What the court said

For both lodestars, the Court did not consider block-billed entries where it was not clear to the Court the amount of time Trustee's counsel spent on activities related to enforcing the Court's orders.

The court also reduced the award for: unrelated claims.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts on a sanctions fee petition will exclude time tied to unrelated matters and will decline to credit block-billed entries that do not separate sanction-related work from other tasks, even when the overall request is large.

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

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.