W.D. Texas cuts wage and hour fee award 63.7%, including for clerical work

What happened

The plaintiff in an FLSA wage and hour case asked the W.D. Texas for $141,143 in attorney fees. Judge Robert F. Castañeda awarded $51,287.40, a reduction of $89,855.60 or 63.7%. The court denied fees for 89.9 hours of clerical work billed as legal work, totaling $10,380. It also applied a 50% reduction to total hours for duplicative staffing, clerical work, and limited success, since all claims except the overtime claim were dismissed at summary judgment. The court also reduced the hourly rate for Mr. Chavez.

What the court said

Thus, the Court will not award Plaintiff any attorney's fees for these hours.

When taking all of these factors into consideration, the Court concludes that a 50% reduction in hours is appropriate.

The court also reduced the award for: duplicative staffing, limited success, hourly rate reduced.

Why it matters

The ruling shows courts will separate clerical tasks from legal work and deny fees for those hours, and will reduce total hours for duplicative staffing and unsuccessful claims. It also shows that a fee award can be cut substantially even when some time is compensable, based on the court's review of the time records and the results obtained.

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 W.D. Texas approves and attorney fee motions in Texas 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.