E.D. New York cuts wage and hour fee award 60.2%, including for block billing

What happened

The fee applicant sought $20,088 in sanctions fees. Magistrate Judge Vera M. Scanlon recommended awarding $8,000, a reduction of $12,088 or 60.2%. The court found 15.1 hours by William Li and 4.9 hours by Stephen Bourtin compensable, and 13.5 and 16.1 hours respectively non-compensable as unrelated claims. It also declined fees for block-billed entries it could not parse and for 0.1 hours of administrative work, and recommended reducing the hourly rates for both attorneys.

What the court said

Given the block billing, or the intertwined nature of the work, the Court cannot parse such entries and thus does not recommend an award of fees for these time entries.

0.1 hours on 2/10/2023 for "[e]mail correspondence . . . to confirm the correct location to serve third-party subpoena," which is an administrative task

The court also reduced the award for: unrelated claims, unrelated claims, hourly rate reduced.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that a fee petition can lose substantial time when entries combine tasks or include administrative work, and that courts will exclude entries they cannot separate. It also shows that block billing can lead to denial of fees for entire entries rather than a partial reduction.

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

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