Wesby v. Globe Manufacturing Company LLC et al

Filing 145

ORDER directing the Clerk to tax $22,681.66 against Wesby for Globe and $26,377.45 against Casco for Wesby. Signed by Chief Judge D. P. Marshall Jr. on 8/16/2019. (jak)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
JONESBORO DIVISION
DAMIEN WESBY

PLAINTIFF

No. 3:16 -cv-235-DPM

V.

GLOBE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LLC;
and CASCO INDUSTRIES, INC.

DEFENDANTS

ORDER

Globe and Wesby each seek costs as prevailing parties under FED.

R. Civ. P. 54(d)(1) and 28 U.S.C. § 1920. Globe wants reimbursement

from Wesby, who wants his costs from

casco.

At the 8 July 2019

hearing, the court partly granted and partly denied both parties'
motions for costs, NQ 120 & NQ 121, with the particulars to come after

sorting. Here they are.
Globe. The court awards Globe $22,681.66 in costs.
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Transcripts. Globe seeks about $17,000.00 on this score. Costs

for "printed or electronically recorded transcripts" are recoverable if

they were "necessarily obtained for use in the case[.]" 28 U.S.C.
§

1920(2). Globe requests payment for both printed and electronically

recorded transcripts of Dr. William Hickerson's deposition.

videotaped deposition was shown

at trial; his testimony as

His

Wesby's

treating physician was critical; and the video plus a paper transcript

was necessary. Stanley v. Cottrell, Inc., 784 F.3d 454, 467 (8th Cir. 2015).
The Court denies costs for convenience expenses, including expedited

transcripts, condensed transcripts, color exhibits, video conference

room and laptop charges, and finance charges. Globe hasn't shown
their necessity. The Court therefore awards $14,739.57 in allowable
transcript costs.
¯

Witness fees. Globe seeks approximately $400.00 in witness

fees for Wayne Gately, Dillon Scarborough, and

Jeff Jones.

But these

fees were payments to a private process server for trial subpoenas.
Np

120-4 at 3. Private process server costs are not taxable. Crues v. KFC

Corp., 768 F.2d 230, 234 (8th Cir. 1985). The Court awards the $4,640.00

that Globe paid Wesby's experts, Drs. Ruth Rimmer and Elizabeth Buc,
as witness fees for their depositions. Stanley, 784 F.3d at 464-65. Globe

seeks all its out-of-pocket expenses for its experts testifying at trial.
Witness fees are limited by statute to $40 a day plus some travel

expenses. 28 U.S.C. § 1920(3); 28 U.S.C. § 1821. The Court will
therefore tax $3,302.09 for Jeffrey Stull and Michael McKenna's trial

attendance and reasonable travel expenses. The amounts requested for

airfare and rental cars are high. The Court has reduced the award
accordingly.
Wesby. The Court awards Wesby $26,377.45 in costs.
¯

Transcripts. Wesby requests approximately $15,000.00 for

transcripts. He's not entitled to recover the cost of the transcript of Dr.

Buc's supplemental deposition because his inadequate compliance
with the expert disclosure deadline necessitated it. The Court exercises
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its discretion and awards $413.95 for the closing argument transcript.

Wesby needed it to prepare the rather complicated post-judgment
motions; it was thus "necessarily obtained for use in the case" under

§ 1920(2). The Court also awards Wesby costs for both the printed and

electronically recorded transcripts of Dr. Hickerson. But the Court
denies costs for color exhibits and expedited processing for other
transcripts because Wesby hasn't shown these extras were necessary.

The Court therefore awards Wesby $12,202.45 in allowable transcript
costs.

Copies. The Court awards the $6,691.26 Wesby requests for
copies of four sets of trial exhibits. These copies were needed for

counsel, the witnesses, and the Court. Wesby seeks approximately

$1,000.00 for deposition transcripts used at trial. He gives no specifics.
Some depositions were used in cross-examining the witnesses, but the

Court is unsure whether all these transcripts were used. The Court

therefore awards $500.00 on this score to do rough justice.
Witness fees. Wesby also seeks approximately $400.00 in

private process server costs for Gately, Scarborough, and Jones. These
costs aren't taxable.

Wesby did not request the standard witness fee for

its expert witnesses' trial attendance, but the Court awards $40 each for
Drs. Foster, Buc, and Rinimer, along with reasonable travel expenses.

As with Globe's experts, Dr. Buc's airfare, plus the rental car charges

for her and Dr. Rin-imer, are high. The Court has therefore awarded a
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reduced amount. Likewise, Wesby is entitled to reimbursement for the
expert witness fees he paid to depose defendants' experts, Stull and

McKenna. The total award for this category is $6,983.74.
*

*

*

The Court directs the Clerk to tax $22,681.66 against Wesby for

Globe and $26,377.45 against Casco for Wesby.
So Ordered.

D.P. Marshall Jr.
United States District Judge

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