D. Arizona cuts wage and hour fee award 25.4%, including for clerical work

What happened

The fee applicant in Quigley v. Soul Surgery LLC sought $7,609.50 for 17.1 hours in a Fair Labor Standards Act wage and hour case. Judge Stephen M. McNamee awarded $5,674, a reduction of $1,935.50 or 25.4%, and allowed 14.9 hours. The court reduced the hourly rate, disallowed 1.6 hours of clerical or secretarial tasks billed as legal work, excluded 0.3 hours in the interests of justice, and excluded another 0.3 hours for drafting and filing a magistrate consent form as administrative or clerical.

What the court said

The total for the above, disallowed clerical or secretarial tasks is 1.6 hours.

The Court further identifies an additional task entry that falls squarely under administrative or clerical tasks; “Draft, file Magistrate Consent Form (0.3 hours)”

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

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts will separate clerical and administrative tasks from legal work on a fee petition and exclude those hours, and that a reasonable hourly rate is set independently of the rate requested. It also shows that small entries, such as filing a consent form, can be disallowed when they are administrative in nature.

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 D. Arizona approves and attorney fee motions in Arizona 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.