E.D. New York cuts commercial fee award 50.9%, including for missing records

What happened

St. Marys Cement U.S. LLC sought $61,087.04 in fees under a contract fee clause. The court awarded $30,000, a reduction of $31,087.04 or 50.9%. The court noted the submission lacked time records, rates, titles, and experience for the timekeepers, and that the entries were too vague to assess reasonableness. It also disallowed $12,692.19 for preparing the fee motion and $12,692.19 for post-judgment bankruptcy efforts.

What the court said

It did not include the time records of any of the timekeepers who worked on the matter, nor their rates, nor their title at the firm or their experience.

the Court cannot undertake the reasonableness analysis based on the little information that plaintiff has provided

The court also reduced the award for: fees on fees, other.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that a fee applicant must supply contemporaneous time records with rates and timekeeper qualifications; without them, a court may decline to conduct a line-by-line reasonableness review and cut the award substantially. It also confirms that fees for preparing the fee motion and for separate bankruptcy work may be excluded.

How to keep this out of your fee petition

• Record time the same day the work happens.
• Keep the original records, not only a cleaned-up summary.
• Be able to show when each entry was created.

Cite this ruling

See hourly rates the E.D. New York approves and attorney fee motions in New York federal courts.

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