S.D. Texas cuts consumer protection fee award 2.9% over clerical work

What happened

Lemberg Law, LLC sought $10,417.50 in attorney fees under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for 36.9 hours. The court awarded $10,117.50, a reduction of $300 or 2.9%. The court found that 3.0 hours of paralegal time was spent on clerical tasks rather than legal work and excluded that time from the award. No costs were included in the figures.

What the court said

Based on the provided descriptions, the Court finds that 3.0 hours of paralegal time was spent on clerical tasks.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts will separate clerical tasks from legal work when reviewing time records, and that even a small number of hours described as clerical can be removed from a fee award. It also shows that a modest reduction can follow from a line-by-line review of billing descriptions.

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 S.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.