N.D. California cuts intellectual property fee award 8% over block billing
National Council of The United States, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Inc. v. The Del Norte Council of the Society of St. Vincent De Paul, No. 3:23-cv-01556. District Court, N.D. California, Judge Richard Seeborg. Decided . Read the opinion
- Requested
- $128,299.25
- Awarded
- $117,989.03
- Cut
- 8%$10,310.22
Intellectual property · Fee applicant's counsel: UB Greensfelder · Figures include costs
What happened
UB Greensfelder, counsel for the fee applicant, requested $128,299.25 in fees and costs. Judge Richard Seeborg awarded $117,989.03, a reduction of $10,310.22. The court applied a 10 percent across-the-board reduction to a subset of UB Greensfelder's entries because the entries were block billed. The figures include costs.
What the court said
an across-the-board reduction of UB Greensfelder's bill by 10 percent, from $99,032.25 to $89,129.03, is proper
Why it matters
The ruling shows that courts will reduce fee awards when time entries combine multiple tasks into a single block, making it difficult to assess the reasonableness of each task. Even a modest across-the-board cut can follow from block billing alone.
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
National Council of The United States, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Inc. v. The Del Norte Council of the Society of St. Vincent De Paul, No. 3:23-cv-01556 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 31, 2025) 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.
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