D. Oregon cuts ERISA benefits fee award 17.2%, including for clerical work

What happened

The fee applicant in an ERISA benefits case asked for $3,946 in attorney fees. The court awarded $3,266.50, a reduction of $679.50 or 17.2%. It disallowed 1.8 hours of purely clerical entries dated 4/17/23, 4/18/23, and 8/7/24. It also found that of 3.2 hours block billed with clerical and nonclerical tasks together, 2.26 hours were clerical and 0.94 hours were nonclerical. Separately, the court reduced the hourly rate allowed for work by S. Harder, finding no support for a higher rate.

What the court said

For the purely clerical entries on 4/17/23, 4/18/23, and 8/7/24, 1.8 hours of time was billed. Those fees are disallowed.

Of the 3.2 hours that were block billed with clerical and nonclerical tasks together, 2.26 hours were clerical, and 0.94 hours were nonclerical.

The court also reduced the award for: hourly rate reduced.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts separate clerical tasks from legal work when reviewing fee petitions, and that block-billed entries mixing the two can be divided and partly disallowed. It also shows that an hourly rate without supporting evidence may be reduced to the rate the court finds justified.

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. Oregon approves and attorney fee motions in Oregon federal courts.

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