E.D. New York cuts commercial fee award 5%, including for clerical work

What happened

NextGear Capital sought $26,912.50 in attorney fees under a contract fee clause for 85.7 hours billed. The court awarded $25,566.88, a reduction of $1,345.62, or 5%. The court applied a 5% across the board reduction to the hours billed, citing clerical work billed as legal work, travel time, and block billing. The figures do not include costs.

What the court said

For the reasons discussed above, the Court respectfully recommends applying a 5 percent across the board reduction to the hours billed.

For the reasons discussed above, the Court respectfully recommends applying a 5 percent across the board reduction to the hours billed.

The court also reduced the award for: travel time.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts will reduce fee awards when time records mix clerical tasks with legal work, include travel time, or use block billing, even where the overall reduction is modest.

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 E.D. New York approves and attorney fee motions in New York 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.