E.D. Oklahoma cuts civil rights fee award 29%, including for vague entries

What happened

The fee applicant sought $8,529 in attorney fees for 51.1 hours in a civil rights case. The court awarded $6,055.50 for 36.5 hours, a reduction of $2,473.50 or 29%. It disallowed a 3.8 hour entry from April 26, 2024 as too vague to evaluate for reasonableness, cut 7.6 hours billed for reviewing medical records when only three pages were attached to the reply, and cut 2.7 hours for analyzing an order that was also billed by another attorney.

What the court said

Without additional information other than what is in the time entry, the Court cannot evaluate this entry for reasonableness. The Court therefore finds the 3.8 hour entry on April 26, 2024 is not necessary and reasonable and should not be allowed.

The court also reduced the award for: excessive hours, duplicative staffing.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that a time entry lacking enough detail for the court to assess reasonableness can be rejected outright, and that hours spent on tasks that yield little or duplicate another attorney's work may be trimmed even in a modest fee request.

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. Oklahoma approves and attorney fee motions in Oklahoma 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.