E.D. New York cuts civil rights fee award 26.7%, including for block billing

What happened

The plaintiff sought $366,206.50 in attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988. The court found the requested hourly rate unreasonable given current practices in the Eastern District of New York and reduced the rate. It also cut 2.75 hours of travel time from the merit hours. Finding block billing in the time records, the court reduced the total fee by 10 percent. The court awarded $268,547.40, a reduction of $97,659.10, or 26.7 percent, and awarded 663.08 hours.

What the court said

Accordingly, the Court finds plaintiff’s allotted attorney’s fees should be reduced by 10 percent.

The court also reduced the award for: hourly rate reduced, travel time.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that a court will reduce a fee award for block billing even when other reductions, such as a lower hourly rate and travel time, are also applied. It confirms that time records must separate tasks so the court can assess whether the hours were reasonably expended.

How to keep this out of your fee petition

• Record one task per entry, each with its own time.
• Write the entry when the work happens, not at the end of the week.
• If a task really is one unit of work, say what it was and what it produced.

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.