E.D. New York cuts wage and hour fee award 22.9%, including for clerical work

What happened

Michael Faillace & Associates, P.C. requested $4,882.50 in fees for 14.1 hours in this Fair Labor Standards Act case. The court recommended reducing the hourly rates for the attorney and the paralegals. It declined $375 billed by an unidentified biller, KR. It also applied a 5% across-the-board reduction to the hours billed to account for excessive or otherwise improper billing, including clerical work billed as legal work. The court awarded $3,762, a reduction of $1,120.50.

What the court said

This Court therefore recommends applying a 5% across-the-board reduction to the hours billed to account for excessive or otherwise improper billing.

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

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts examine both rates and the substance of time entries. Billing clerical tasks as legal work and submitting entries without identifying the biller can draw reductions, and courts may apply across-the-board cuts when improper billing is present.

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