S.D. Florida cuts fee award 71.9%, including for block billing

What happened

The fee applicant sought $22,640. The magistrate judge recommended awarding $6,355, a reduction of $16,285 or 71.9%. The court reduced the hourly rate charged for Mr. Burlington's expert services and set a reasonable rate for Mr. Alerding's work. It cut Mr. Burlington's deposition preparation from 22.9 hours to 8 hours, and reduced Mr. Alerding's preparation time from 6.9 hours to 3.5 hours, citing block billing in both attorneys' time entries.

What the court said

Mr. Burlington's time entries include "block billing," which is the disfavored practice of including multiple distinct tasks within the same time entry without specifying the amount of time spent on each task.

Mr. Alerding's time entries also include instances of block billing. Therefore, the undersigned finds that Mr. Alerding's preparation time should be reduced from 6.9 hours to 3.5 hours.

The court also reduced the award for: hourly rate reduced, excessive hours, hourly rate reduced.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that block-billed entries can lead courts to reduce preparation hours, and that rate and excessiveness findings can compound into a large overall cut. It also shows a magistrate judge may recommend trimming both expert and attorney time when entries combine tasks without separating the time spent on each.

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

See hourly rates the S.D. Florida approves and attorney fee motions in Florida 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.