Costs: Fifth District Discusses A Myriad Of Costs Issues, Agreeing That Some Were Improperly Awarded But Others Were Properly Awarded

Costs Necessary And Reasonable To The Litigation Are Discretionary Award Calls By The Trial Judge.

            In O’Neal v. Stanislaus County Employees’ Retirement Assn., Case No. F079887 (5^th Dist. Dec. 8, 2021) (unpublished), non-prevailing plaintiffs appealed certain costs awarded to The Retirement Association and Stanislaus County.  The Fifth District concluded that some costs were improperly awarded but others were properly ordered, with the major takeaways being these:  (1) summary judgment exhibit costs and costs of a person never deposed were not properly awarded; (2) copies of trial exhibits is a discretionary costs award such that there was no abuse of discretion in so awarding; (3) messenger fees for filings by outside, non-local counsel are a discretionary costs item which can be awarded by the trial judge; (4) UPS shipping costs are not allowable under the costs statutes; (5) CourtCall telephonic appearance expenses can be awarded in the trial judge’s discretion; (6) unused trial exhibit expenses are properly awardable discretionary costs, although noting that the issue is pending before the California Supreme Court in Segal v. ASICS America Corp., No. S263569; and (7) transcript costs for transcripts not ordered by the court are not a proper costs item.

            BLOG UPDATE:  Segal was argued and submitted on November 3, 2021, so a decision should be upcoming in the near future.