D. Connecticut cuts employment fee award 53.7%, including for block billing

What happened

Kotchen & Low, counsel for the plaintiffs, sought $203,525.60 in sanctions fees. The court awarded $94,201.25, a reduction of $109,324.35 or 53.7%. It reduced the hourly rates for partner and associate work, finding lower rates reasonable and generous, with one attorney seeking no more than a lower rate. It found half of Attorney Grunert's hours non-excessive, awarded a higher share of hours to one timekeeper, and awarded a higher share to two others. Local counsel Egbarin's 5.5 hours were cut to 1.3 because 4.2 hours were a single block-billed entry.

What the court said

Local counsel Nitor Egbarin’s 5.5 hours will be reduced to 1.3, because the other 4.2 is composed of a single “block-billed” entry

The court also reduced the award for: hourly rate reduced, excessive hours, excessive hours, excessive hours, excessive hours, excessive hours.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that a block-billed entry can be reduced to the hours the court can trace to specific work, and that courts will also adjust rates and trim hours they find excessive. Time records that separate tasks give a fee applicant a better chance of recovering the full time claimed.

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. Connecticut approves.

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.