D. Utah cuts social security fee award 25%, including for clerical work

What happened

The plaintiff in a social security case sought $9,983.40 in attorney and paralegal fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act. Judge Jared C. Bennett awarded $7,490.49, a reduction of $2,492.91. The court cut roughly 25% of a subset of hours, or 7.8 hours, as excessive. It also reduced claimed attorney time by 0.75 hours and paralegal time by 2.8 hours because clerical work had been billed as legal work.

What the court said

the court reduces Plaintiff's claimed attorney time by 0.75 hours and paralegal time by 2.8 hours.

the court reduces Plaintiff's claimed attorney time by 0.75 hours and paralegal time by 2.8 hours.

The court also reduced the award for: excessive hours.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts will trim hours they consider excessive and will separate clerical tasks from legal work when reviewing a fee petition. Time entries that do not distinguish clerical from legal tasks can lead to reductions even when the overall request is modest.

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 D. Utah approves and attorney fee motions in Utah 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.