Attorney's Fees

RCNY tit. 47, ch. 1, subch. I

in effect

47 RCNY § 1-81 Applications for Attorney's Fees.

§ 1-81 Applications for Attorney's Fees. A complainant may apply to the Office of the Chair for an award of attorney's fees within 14 days of service of a memorandum decision holding a respondent liable for an unlawful discriminatory practice, act of discriminatory harassment, or act of bias-based profiling. An application for attorney's fees must include a memorandum and copies of time records, accompanied by an affidavit or affirmation. A respondent may file an opposition to an application for an award of attorney's fees within 14 days of service of the complainant's application for attorney's fees. The fee applicant's reply, if any, must be filed within 7 days of service of the respondent's opposition. In addition to filing with the Office of the Chair, copies of all papers relating to an application for an award of attorney's fees must also be served on the opposing party and the Law Enforcement Bureau. The Chair or the Chair's designee will decide an application for attorney's fees in a supplemental decision and order. (Added City Record 8/6/2019, eff. 9/5/2019)

47 RCNY § 1-82 Assessment of an Award of Attorney's Fees.

§ 1-82 Assessment of an Award of Attorney's Fees. Attorney's fees will generally be calculated under the lodestar method, multiplying the number of hours reasonably expended on the case by a reasonable hourly rate. In assessing the amount of time reasonably spent on a matter, the Commission may consider, among other things, the novelty and difficulty of the issues presented in the case and the degree of success ultimately achieved, including whether the litigation acted as a catalyst to effect policy change on the part of the respondent, regardless of whether that change has been implemented voluntarily. In assessing a reasonable hourly rate, the Commission may consider, among other things, the skill and experience of the attorney, and the hourly rate typically charged by attorneys of similar skill and experience litigating similar cases in New York county. (a) Billing judgment. An applicant seeking attorney's fees should make a good faith effort to exclude from its fee request time for work that is excessive, redundant, or otherwise unnecessary. Regardless of who performs the work, tasks which are clerical or secretarial in nature should be billed at an administrative rate and tasks which could be performed by a paralegal should be billed as such. (b) Time records. Time records should be set forth with sufficient particularity to enable an assessment of the accuracy of the records and whether the amount of time expended was reasonable. The Commission may reduce a fee award where time records do not adequately describe the nature of the work performed. (Added City Record 8/6/2019, eff. 9/5/2019)

47 RCNY § 1-83 Input from the Law Enforcement Bureau.

§ 1-83 Input from the Law Enforcement Bureau. On its own accord or at the request of the Office of the Chair, the Law Enforcement Bureau may respond to a complainant's application for attorney's fees. The deadline for the Law Enforcement Bureau to file such a response is 20 days after the deadline for the complainant's reply papers, unless otherwise specified by the Office of the Chair. (Added City Record 8/6/2019, eff. 9/5/2019)

Source: City of New York, Charter, Administrative Code and Rules (American Legal Publishing XML export, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/newyorkcity/latest/NYCrules/0-0-0-121420Fetched: 10/24/2026