N.D. California cuts intellectual property fee award 20.9% over block billing

What happened

Tyz Law Group, counsel for the fee applicant, requested $7,547,156.84 in attorney fees in this copyright infringement case. The court awarded $5,972,559.85, a reduction of $1,574,596.99, or 20.9%. The court applied a 20% reduction to the total fee for block billing entries, finding the resulting award reasonable after that reduction. The figures do not include costs.

What the court said

Thus, an award of $5,963,684.85 in this copyright infringement case is reasonable after a 20% reduction for all block billing entries.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts will reduce a fee award across the board when time entries combine multiple tasks, because the entries do not let the court check whether each task was reasonably billed. A single recordkeeping problem can affect the entire requested amount, not just the affected entries.

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 N.D. California approves and attorney fee motions in California 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.