Civil Rights, Costs: Lower Court’s Award Of Costs Against Dismissing FEHA Plaintiff Reversed As A Matter Of Law.

No Indication Case Was Frivolous.

               We have posted on an emerging trend in FEHA cases, which is that routine costs cannot be assessed against a non-prevailing plaintiff unless the case is deemed frivolous. Vanrooy v. Jacobes-Downing-Hughes, Inc., Case No. C100312 (3d Dist. Apr. 7, 2025) (unpublished) is a continuation of that theme.  There, plaintiff’s claims were dismissed for failure to serve a complaint within the three-year mandatory service period, with the lower court awarding routine costs.  The costs award was reversed on appeal because nothing indicated that plaintiff’s case was frivolous or that costs could be apportioned between FEHA and non-FEHA claims.