District of Columbia cuts environmental fee award, including for clerical work

What happened

The Wilderness Society and other conservation groups sought fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The court deducted 12.9 hours, or $2,952.90, for clerical tasks billed as legal work, reduced one block-billed entry by 5% and deducted $36.40, and sustained the government's objection to 9.7 hours, or $2,266.70. It then applied a 40% reduction to the total fee award to account for the groups' overall level of success in the litigation.

What the court said

In total, the Court will deduct 12.9 hours—or $2,952.90 in fees—for clerical tasks.

The Court will therefore reduce that entry by five percent and deduct $36.40 from the Conservation Groups’ fee award.

The court also reduced the award for: other, limited success.

Why it matters

The ruling shows courts will separate clerical tasks from legal work and discount entries that combine tasks without breakdowns, even when the overall award is also reduced for limited success. Time records that distinguish administrative work and itemize tasks give courts a clearer basis for 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 District of Columbia approves and attorney fee motions in District of Columbia federal courts.

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