E.D. New York cuts fee award 45.2%, including for block billing

What happened

The fee applicant in Lawson et al v. Rubin et al sought $8,793,940.80 for 12,006.9 hours. Judge Cogan awarded $4,815,033.25, a reduction of $3,978,907.55 or 45.2%. The court reduced the claimed hourly rates after weighing the Johnson factors, the usual rates in the district, and the rates typically charged by plaintiffs' law firm. The court also applied an overall 15% reduction to the claimed time charges for block billing, over the defendant's objections. The figures do not include costs.

What the court said

Considering defendant’s objections, I will apply an overall reduction of the time charges claimed of 15%.

The court also reduced the award for: hourly rate reduced.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that a court will cut rates to district norms and will apply a percentage reduction across all claimed hours when time entries are block billed, rather than parsing each entry. It also shows that block billing can reduce an award even when it is only one of several grounds for reduction.

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 E.D. New York approves and attorney fee motions in New York 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.