N.D. Texas cuts commercial fee award 4%, including for clerical work

What happened

Origin Bancorp sought $121,712.50 in attorney fees under a contract fee clause. The court awarded $116,833.50, a reduction of $4,879.00 or 4.0%. Origin conceded that $3,172.50 of its entries were for clerical work, and the court reduced the fees by that amount. The court also lowered attorney Tomasky's hourly rates to the baseline rate because there was no evidence of her relevant experience.

What the court said

Origin concedes that $3,172.50 of its entries constituted fees for clerical work. Def.'s Reply 2. Thus, the Court reduces the fees by $3,172.50.

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

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts will separate clerical tasks from legal work on a fee petition, even when the applicant concedes the issue, and will reduce rates when the record lacks evidence of an attorney's relevant experience.

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 N.D. Texas approves and attorney fee motions in Texas federal courts.

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