Montana § 25-10-712 - Requirements For Attorney Fee Award Request -- Awards Against State

§ 25-10-712. Requirements For Attorney Fee Award Request -- Awards Against State

Requirements for attorney fee award request -- awards against state. (1) An award of attorney fees must be reasonable. A reasonable claim for attorney fees must include the following: (a) the date a task is performed and the name of the timekeeper; (b) a specific description of the task, including but not limited to the nature, purpose, or subject of the work performed. Generic descriptors for a task and the work claimed are unreasonable. The description of the task performed must be sufficient for a reasonable person to understand what work is being claimed. (c) time that is billed in increments of tenths of an hour, including: (i) a statement indicating whether the attorney has or has had a client who pays the hourly rate requested by the attorney; and (ii) a detailed list of time spent on each task. Block billing or aggregating of tasks may not be claimed. (d) a specific description of the work performed; (e) an itemized list of expenses, including receipts from vendors; (f) in-house copying expenses that may not exceed 10 cents a page; and (g) an indication of whether a portion of the attorney fee has been paid and whether the client is responsible for paying a portion of the bill if the attorney does not collect the award. (2) There is a rebuttable presumption that the following are unreasonable requests for attorney fees: (a) sending more than one attorney to a deposition; (b) sending more than two attorneys to an oral argument or trial; (c) charging for the cost of telephone calls, faxes, library facilities, or electronic research subscriptions; and (d) charging an hourly rate greater than the statewide average if the attorney has not been practicing for more than 10 years. (3) In addition to the requirements imposed by subsections (1) and (2), when considering an award of attorney fees against the state, the court shall take into consideration the hourly rate charged by the attorney representing the state. If the court elects to grant a rate higher than the rate charged by the attorney representing the state, the court shall provide an explanation as to why the rate charged by the state does not adequately compensate the attorney for which attorney fees are requested. (4) In determining the reasonableness of an award of attorney fees, a court may consider factors other than those contained in this section. (5) The provisions of this section do not apply to claims for attorney fees for an amount less than $10,000.