E.D. California cuts disability access fee award 66%, including for clerical work

What happened

The plaintiffs in this disability access case, represented by Medina McKelvey, requested $802,874.50 in attorney fees under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The court awarded $272,631.25, a reduction of $530,243.25 or 66.0%. It set hourly rates for partners, associates, and paralegals; excluded 32.4 hours for summary judgment work and 4.7 hours for exhibit list and pretrial order work; applied a 10% reduction for overstaffing, duplicative work, clerical work, and misconduct; and reduced the total fee request by 40% for limited success.

What the court said

Plaintiffs also seek fees for "time spent reviewing the docket and monitoring filing deadlines," which should be excluded.

The court also reduced the award for: hourly rate reduced, excessive hours, other, duplicative staffing, other, limited success.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts will adjust hourly rates, exclude specific time entries, and apply percentage cuts for clerical work and other recordkeeping issues, even when those issues are only part of the reason for the overall reduction. It also confirms that limited success can justify a substantial cut to the total fee request.

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 E.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.