E.D. New York cuts wage and hour fee award 87.2%, including for clerical work

What happened

Ryan Kim Law, P.C. sought $171,862 in fees in Wang v. Keeper Holdings, Inc. et al. The court awarded $21,990, a reduction of $149,872 or 87.2%. It set hourly rates for Mr. Kim and Ms. Choi. It applied a 60% across-the-board cut to hours, citing limited success, work it found non-compensable at the rates above the reduced rate, 7.4 hours of clerical tasks billed at the partner rate, and 10.5 hours of travel billed at the full attorney rate.

What the court said

The Court has identified a total of 7.4 hours of clerical or administrative tasks billed at Mr. Kim's partner rate... These entries also are factored into the across-the-board reduction.

The court also reduced the award for: limited success, other, travel time, hourly rate reduced.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that time records mixing clerical tasks and travel at full attorney rates can be folded into a single across-the-board cut rather than itemized line by line. It also shows courts may combine recordkeeping problems with limited success and rate issues, so the final percentage reflects several factors at once.

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. New York approves and attorney fee motions in New York federal courts.

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