N.D. California cuts disability access fee award 81.2%, including for missing records

What happened

The fee applicant sought $1,249,454 in attorney fees under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The court awarded $234,958.27, a reduction of $1,014,495.73 or 81.2%. It halved travel time to 46.93 hours, reduced joint time billed to the City from 50% to 10% (leaving 67.47 hours), applied a 10% reduction to overall hours for inadequate and erroneous documentation, reduced the hourly rate to account for inflation, and applied a 50% reduction to a subset of entries for limited success, resulting in $28,480.00.

What the court said

At this juncture, the Court finds that a 10% reduction in Counsel’s overall hours is warranted to account for inadequate and erroneous documentation.

The court also reduced the award for: travel time, unrelated claims, hourly rate reduced, limited success.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that a fee award can be cut on several independent grounds, and that a documentation-based percentage reduction may be only one component. Courts will adjust hours for travel, unrelated claims, and limited success, and will set the rate separately, so the final award may bear little relation to the amount requested.

How to keep this out of your fee petition

• Record time the same day the work happens.
• Keep the original records, not only a cleaned-up summary.
• Be able to show when each entry was created.

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.