D. Maryland cuts social security fee award 40.6%, including for clerical work

What happened

The plaintiff in a social security case sought $4,917.90 in attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The court awarded $2,921.68, a reduction of $1,996.22 or 40.6%. It cut 5.0 attorney hours for record review, finding the time excessive. It cut 2.7 hours of paralegal time for clerical work billed as legal work. It also reduced the time billed for the reply, awarding 1.0 attorney hour.

What the court said

Therefore, Plaintiff's request will be reduced by 2.7 hours of paralegal time.

The court also reduced the award for: excessive hours, fees on fees.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts will reduce fee requests when time entries reflect excessive record review, clerical tasks billed at professional rates, and overbroad billing for reply work. Each category was addressed separately, so the total cut reflects several distinct recordkeeping and billing issues rather than one.

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. Maryland approves and attorney fee motions in Maryland 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.