W.D. Wisconsin cuts ERISA benefits fee award 3.9% over clerical work

What happened

The fee applicant in an ERISA benefits case sought $157,780 in fees for 324.05 hours. The court awarded $151,612.50, a reduction of $6,167.50, or 3.9%. The court excluded 12.45 hours of clerical tasks that had been billed as legal work from the lodestar calculation. The figures do not include costs.

What the court said

this court will do the same by excluding the 12.45 hours of clerical tasks from the lodestar

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts will separate clerical tasks from legal work when reviewing time records on a fee petition, and will reduce the lodestar by the hours attributed to clerical tasks even when the overall reduction is small.

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

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.