N.D. California cuts social security fee award 59.3%, including for clerical work

What happened

The plaintiff in a social security case sought $25,157.01 in fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, covering 95.1 hours. The court awarded $10,231.34, a reduction of $14,925.67. It denied $14,808.19 for 58.8 hours spent on the appeal to the Ninth Circuit because of limited success. It also reduced the award by $117.48 for 0.5 hours of clerical work billed as legal work, including preparing and filing a certificate of service and reviewing the court's standing order.

What the court said

Here, Plaintiff billed for work preparing and filing a certificate of service, and reviewing this court's standing order, which falls within tasks "easily delegable to nonprofessional assistance."

The court also reduced the award for: limited success.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts will separate clerical tasks from legal work when reviewing fee petitions and will not compensate time that could be handled by nonprofessional staff. It also shows that fees for appellate work may be denied when the applicant achieves only limited success.

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. California approves and attorney fee motions in California 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.