W.D. Pennsylvania cuts fee award 4.7%, including for clerical work

What happened

The relator's counsel, Stone Law Firm, LLC, requested $116,487.50 in fees. The court awarded $111,070, a reduction of $5,417.50 or 4.7%. The court excluded $4,517.50 in time spent on unrelated claims, 0.5 hours billed by Anthony Primelo to set up Microsoft Teams because it is not ordinarily billed to a client, 0.8 hours for waiting on hold for a call that did not occur, and 0.4 hours for a wellness check on the relator.

What the court said

the 0.5 hours billed by Anthony Primelo to set up Microsoft Teams, ECF No. 36-1 at 14 (line 287), is not something that would ordinarily be billed to a client. Accordingly, the Court will exclude it.

The court also reduced the award for: unrelated claims, other, other.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts will exclude time entries for tasks not ordinarily billed to a client, such as clerical or administrative work, and will separate time spent on unrelated claims from the fee calculation.

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 W.D. Pennsylvania approves and attorney fee motions in Pennsylvania federal courts.

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