On July 13, 2023, Justice Reed of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in Arbor-Myrtle Beach PE LLC v. Frydman, 2023 NY Slip Op. 50712(U), rejecting a request for a reduction of a fee award because of block billing, explaining:
Next, plaintiff objects to the recommendation to reduce plaintiff’s fees by 10% for block-billing. Plaintiff submits detailed and informative time entries in connection with its invoices. Use of block billing is a common practice among law firms and courts only permit reduction in fees should its use makes it exceedingly difficult for the court to identify whether the amount of time spent on a particular task is reasonable. The referee did not find in his report that the block billing encumbered his analysis of time spent on particular tasks but rather appeared to take a categorical approach to the reduction. This amounts to clear legal error: absent a finding that the block billing practice obscured the nature of attorney’s actions and connected fees, the referee is not entitled to discount services for use of a common billing practice. As such, the 10% reduction is unwarranted.
(Internal citations omitted).