Tolin v. State, Department of Family Services, 294 P.3d 879

Attorney Tolin appointed to represent indigent parent LMB in Wyoming DFS termination case; DFS is statutorily obligated to pay defense costs including attorney fees, Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 14-2-318(d)(ii).
District court awarded half of Tolin's requested fees after reviewing detailed itemized billing and found hours excessive; total awarded: $24,858.50 plus $334.30 expenses.
Tolin's billing covered Feb. 27, 2009, to Feb. 24, 2011, claiming 487.17 hours at $100/hour; asserted expenses of $334.30.
Judge Wilking reviewed the fee motion after Judge Skavdahl left office; Tolin appealed the 50% reduction.
Appellate standard adopts lodestar framework; district court credited hourly rate but reduced hours per its discretion to exclude excessive, duplicative, or nonproductive time.
Court ultimately affirmed the district court’s 50% hours reduction as reasonable.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the district court abused discretion by withholding 50% of fees.	Tolin—hours were reasonable; apportionment should reflect full request.	DFS—hours excessive, including clerical tasks billed as legal work; reduction appropriate.	No abuse of discretion; 50% reduction affirmed.
Whether district court properly applied the lodestar method and billing judgment.	Billing records should be taken at face value; full amount warranted.	Need to exclude nonproductive, excessive, or redundant hours; proper judgment exercised.	District court properly exercised billing judgment and applied lodestar adjustments.
Whether the district court erred in excluding certain hours as unproductive or excessive.	Entries reflect reasonable work product and research.	Entries show excessive time and clerical tasks misclassified as legal work.	Yes, entries excluded; reduction upheld.
Whether the court erred in considering trial-time hours and the pacing of billing across trial days.	Hours during trial were appropriately billed given trial complexity.	Hours during trial days were excessive and dubious; reductions warranted.	Excessive trial-hours properly reduced.

UNC Teton Exploration Drilling, Inc. v. Peyton, 774 P.2d 584 (Wyo. 1989) (lodestar framework adopted for reasonableness of attorney fees; hours and rate must be reasonable)
Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424 (U.S. 1983) (billing judgment; court may reduce hours to account for unproductive time)
Pennsylvania v. Delaware Valley Citizens' Council for Clean Air, 478 U.S. 546 (U.S. 1986) (courts may reduce hours when time spent is excessive or unproductive)
Mares v. Credit Bureau of Raton, 801 F.2d 1197 (10th Cir. 1986) (court may reduce hours to trim fat from fee application)