E.D. California cuts civil rights fee award 91.1%, including for clerical work

What happened

The fee applicant, represented by Siegel, Yee, Brunner & Mehta, requested $2,579,483.51 in fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988. The court awarded $230,247, a reduction of $2,349,236.51, or 91.1%. The court lowered the requested hourly rate, found significant duplication in staffing, reduced the total hours by 75% for paralegal fees billed as legal work, and applied an additional 65% reduction to the total fee for limited success. The figures do not include costs.

What the court said

paralegal fees, resulting from a 75% reduction in the total number of hours requested after they were multiplied by the

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

Why it matters

The ruling shows that a fee award can be cut sharply when time records mix clerical tasks with legal work and when staffing is duplicative. Courts treat the hours and rates in the petition as the starting point and apply separate reductions for each problem, so the combined effect on the final award can be substantial.

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.