Opinion ID: 538388
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Miscellaneous Items of Disbursement for Telephone,

Text: Duplicating, and Other Office Expenses 41 The State contends that the plaintiff seeks payment for courier travel to pick up and deliver documents when the United States mails should have been used. Plaintiff responds that it utilized hand delivery to give sufficient preparation time because the court ordered expedited briefs and oral argument, and to ensure compliance with mandatory deadlines. We assume that as officers of the court, counsel will not unnecessarily incur useless expense in courier services if mail services will suffice merely because costs are being shifted. Under the circumstances, we cannot say that the use of courier service in the filing of the principal briefs and appendix in this court was unreasonable. The objection to this charge will be denied. However, we do not believe that the State should bear courier charges for the filing of the post-argument brief or other documents in this court. Although there were some time constraints, the court allowed plaintiff twice as much time (one month) for its supplemental memorandum as the State and we see no need for the use of courier service for the filing of the post-argument brief or other documents when overnight federal express service would have sufficed. 42 As for telephone, duplicating, and word processing expenses, the State claims that these charges are components of the lawyers' hourly rate. Long distance telephone calls are ordinarily not office overhead and the State offers no authority or plausible argument that they should be so regarded. Photocopying, like long distance calls, is not customarily regarded as overhead and is part of the reasonable attorneys' fee allowed by the Civil Rights Attorneys' Fee Award Act. See Heiar v. Crawford County, 746 F.2d 1190, 1203 (7th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 472 U.S. 1027, 105 S.Ct. 3500, 87 L.Ed.2d 631 (1985). Similarly, we believe that they are also allowable under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1988. 43 Unfortunately, we are unable to determine whether the photocopying and long distance calls pertain to matters in the district court or this court. In fairness to the prevailing party, we struggled to ascertain from the record, whenever possible, whether charges were related to matters before this court. The applicants, however, did not provide adequate information. Nonetheless, reasonable inferences were made in favor of the appellees even when we were not totally positive that charges were related to the appeal. However, we can make no inference from bare descriptions of long distance or xeroxing, particularly when we are aware that the prevailing party was, throughout the relevant time period, engaged in other matters unrelated to the appeal in this court, e.g., negotiations with the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. Therefore, virtually all of the claims for photocopying and telephone calls will be denied. 44 As for the numerous word processing charges, word processing in the modern law office is an accepted technology and considered indispensable for effective and efficient office service. For the most part, word processing has supplanted the typewriter and is considered an indispensable piece of office equipment in an efficient, up-to-date law office. Like the typewriter in its time, word processing equipment today expedites the work of the secretary and accelerates the productivity of the law office. It is a depreciable piece of equipment that serves the convenience and efficiency of the lawyer and appropriately may be regarded as part of the lawyer's overhead. Word processing services are generally regarded as an overhead component of a lawyer's fee. We need not, however, decide the question in this case because the fee application fails to adequately document that such fees are in line with community practice as required by Blum v. Stenson, 465 U.S. 886, 897 at n. 11, 104 S.Ct. 1541, 1547 at n. 11, 79 L.Ed.2d 891 (1983). In Re Olson, 884 F.2d 1415, 1427 (D.C.Cir.1989). We will, therefore, disallow the word processing charges claimed in connection with this appeal.