S.D. Florida cuts commercial fee award 18%, including for clerical work

What happened

The plaintiff sought $73,183.17 in attorney fees under a contract fee clause, covering 131.24 hours. The court awarded $59,983.07, a reduction of $13,200.10, or 18.0%. It declined to award $12,275.50 for hours billed before the settlement agreement was entered, because that agreement provides only for fees incurred to enforce its terms. It also declined to award $924.60 for 4.02 hours billed for clerical work.

What the court said

The Court does not recommend awarding Plaintiff $924.60 for these hours billed for clerical work.

The court also reduced the award for: unrelated claims.

Why it matters

The ruling shows courts will limit fees to the work the fee clause covers, here enforcement of a settlement, and will separate clerical tasks from legal work when reviewing time entries. Both grounds reduced the award even though the applicant sought fees under a contract rather than a fee-shifting statute.

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 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.