D. Maryland cuts commercial fee award, including for clerical work
Nationwide Property & Casualty Insurance Company v. The Fireline Corporation, No. 1:20-cv-00684. District Court, D. Maryland, Judge Julie R. Rubin. Decided . Read the opinion
The court applied the reductions below but did not state requested and awarded totals we could check against the opinion, so no overall percentage is shown.
Commercial · Contract fee clause · Figures include costs
What happened
Fireline sought fees under a contract fee clause after prevailing in a discovery dispute. The court awarded fees but deducted $225 and $531 for interrogatories that exceeded the Rule 33 limit, $2,360 for duplicative deposition outline preparation, $1,000 and $1,357 for excessive hours on consent motions, and $988.25 for clerical work billed as legal work. The figures include costs.
What the court said
The court finds it to be reasonable to reduce the expenses on these two days by half, deducting $988.25 from the total award.
The court also reduced the award for: other, other, duplicative staffing, excessive hours, excessive hours.
Why it matters
The ruling shows that courts will examine time entries line by line and reduce awards for work that exceeds procedural limits, duplicates staffing, or bills clerical tasks at legal rates, even when the fee request rests on a contract clause.
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
Nationwide Property & Casualty Insurance Company v. The Fireline Corporation, No. 1:20-cv-00684 (D. Md. Mar. 13, 2024) 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.
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