E.D. Texas cuts wage and hour fee award 15%, including for vague entries

What happened

The plaintiffs in this Fair Labor Standards Act case sought $23,300.40 in attorney fees. The court awarded $19,805.34, a reduction of $3,495.06 or 15%. It reduced the lodestar by 5% for vague entries in the invoices, by another 5% for block billing, and by a further 5% for limited success because the FLSA claims shared a common core of facts and related legal theories with the other claims.

What the court said

While it is clear that Plaintiffs' counsel spent significant time preparing for the FLSA claims, this does not excuse the vague entries in the invoices. Thus, the Court finds it appropriate to reduce the lodestar by five percent.

Thus, the lodestar should be reduced by five percent in addition to the five percent reduction for the vague entries, bringing the total reduction to ten percent.

The court also reduced the award for: limited success.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts will trim fee awards for time records that lack detail or combine tasks, even when the overall time spent is substantial. It also shows that recordkeeping problems can be applied as separate percentage cuts on top of reductions for limited success.

How to keep this out of your fee petition

• Name the task, the document or person involved, and the purpose.
• Avoid stock phrases that could describe any day in any matter.
• Keep privileged detail general, but specific enough to show the work.

Cite this ruling

See hourly rates the E.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.