N.D. Texas cuts wage and hour fee award 21.3%, including for clerical work

What happened

The plaintiffs' firm Lichten & Liss-Riordan, P.C. requested $104,968.50 in fees under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Judge Jane J. Boyle awarded $82,634.50, a reduction of $22,334.00 or 21.3%. The court disallowed $7,077.50 for one attorney's attendance at two mediations as duplicative, $2,992.50 for his mediation preparation as duplicative of another attorney's work, and $3,465.00 for mediation attendance reflecting limited success with three plaintiffs. It applied a 10% reduction for failure to demonstrate billing judgment and excluded $645.75 for clerical work.

What the court said

Thus, the $645.75 attributed to the anonymous legal support staff for clerical work should be excluded.

The court also reduced the award for: duplicative staffing, duplicative staffing, limited success, other.

Why it matters

The ruling shows courts will examine mediation staffing and preparation for duplication and will reduce fees where multiple attorneys bill for the same event. It also confirms that clerical tasks billed as legal work are excluded and that a percentage cut can follow when the submission does not show billing judgment.

How to keep this out of your fee petition

• Leave purely clerical work off the fee petition.
• Describe paralegal tasks so the substantive work is clear.
• Split mixed entries into their substantive and clerical parts.

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.