D. Utah cuts intellectual property fee award, including for block billing

What happened

Larada Sciences sought attorney fees, with Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP as counsel. The court excluded 60.2 hours billed by Ms. Petriou and 8.3 hours billed by Mr. Charest from the lodestar calculation. It then applied a ten-percent reduction to the requested hours because the records showed block billing on several occasions, and a further ten-percent reduction after finding counsel had not established billing judgment. The court did not state total dollar amounts.

What the court said

the provided records suggest counsel engaged in improper block-billing on several occasions. To account for this deficiency and protect against overcompensation, the court will apply a ten-percent reduction to counsel’s requested hours.

The court also reduced the award for: other, other.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that block billing can draw a percentage cut even when the court does not parse individual entries, and that a separate reduction may follow when the records do not show billing judgment. Courts treat the time records themselves as the evidence supporting a fee request.

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. Utah approves and attorney fee motions in Utah 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.