S.D. Florida cuts intellectual property fee award 10% over block billing

What happened

Coffey Burlington, counsel for the fee applicant, sought $848,133.45 in attorney fees in this intellectual property case. The court awarded $763,320.10, a reduction of $84,813.35, or 10%. The court applied a 10% across-the-board cut to the total fee to address block-billed time entries. The figures do not include costs. Judge Marty Fulgueira Elfenbein issued the order.

What the court said

the Court finds that a 10% across-the-board reduction is appropriate to counter the problem with counsel's block-billed entries.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that a court may apply a percentage cut across the whole fee request when time entries combine multiple tasks, rather than reviewing each entry line by line. It also shows that a single recordkeeping issue can account for the entire reduction in an award.

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.