N.D. Texas cuts intellectual property fee award 10.3%, including for clerical work | LegalTime AI

N.D. Texas cuts intellectual property fee award 10.3%, including for clerical work

Rubin v. Carvi's Custom Painting, LLC, No. 4:24-cv-00005. District Court, N.D. Texas. Decided . Read the opinion

Requested
$3,653.50
Awarded
$3,278.50
Cut
10.3%$375

Intellectual property · Fee applicant's counsel: SRIPLAW

What happened

SRIPLAW, counsel for the fee applicant, sought $3,653.50 for 11.7 hours in this intellectual property case. The court awarded $3,278.50, a reduction of $375. It deducted $175 for 1.2 hours and further deducted $200 for one hour of time it found was clerical work billed as legal work. The figures do not include costs.

What the court said

Clerical work billed as legal work · $200
Thus, the Court further DEDUCTS one hour of Ms. Pollack's time.

The court also reduced the award for: other.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts will separate clerical tasks from legal work when reviewing time records, and will reduce the award for entries that bill clerical tasks at legal rates even when the overall reduction is modest.

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

Rubin v. Carvi's Custom Painting, LLC, No. 4:24-cv-00005 (N.D. Tex. July 10, 2024)

See hourly rates the N.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.

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