D. New Jersey cuts special education fee award 7.9%, including for clerical work

What happened

Rue Law Group, LLC sought $309,007.58 in fees and costs under the IDEA. The court awarded $284,654.75, including costs, a reduction of $24,352.83. It excluded three hours, $763.38, for purely administrative work. It cut a subset of entries by 10% for vague research descriptions and another subset by 10% for excessive billing. It also reduced Phase II fees by 25% for limited success in the administrative proceedings.

What the court said

the Court will exclude from the lodestar calculation the three hours that Mr. Eyen spent on purely administrative work.

many of the entries in the billing records simply say that the professional did 'legal research,' 'research for brief drafting,' and the like, leaving the Court without insight into the nature of the research

The court also reduced the award for: excessive hours, limited success.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts will separate administrative tasks from legal work and will reduce fees when time entries do not describe the research performed. It also shows that vague entries can draw a percentage cut even when the overall reduction is modest.

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 D. New Jersey approves and attorney fee motions in New Jersey 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.