Appealability/Section 998: Plaintiff’s Failure To Appeal Order To Tax Costs Ruling Was Fatal To Asking For More Expert Witness Fees Via 998 Offer

 

     Plaintiff won a procuring cause case against a well-known broker, which successfully brought a motion to tax certain costs claimed by plaintiff.

     In Praham v. Pickford Real Estate, Inc., Case No. D062477 (4^th Dist., Div. 1 Jan. 8, 2014) (unpublished), plaintiff appealed claiming, among other things, he should have obtained an additional $13,134.70 in expert witness fees because he beat a 998 offer.

     He did not prevail on a jurisdictional issue. He never appealed the order on the motion to tax costs partially won by defendant, but especially regarding the expert fee witness issue. As a result, the appellate court had no jurisdiction to consider the contested ruling. (Pfeifer v. John Crane, Inc., 220 Cal.App.4^th 1270, 1315-1318 (2013) [discussed in our November 4, 2013 post and included in our Top 20 2013 decisions in our January 1, 2014 post].)