Hiramanek et al v. Clark et al

Filing 812

ORDER RE BILL OF COSTS. Signed by Judge James Donato on 6/13/2017. (jdlc3S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 6/13/2017)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ADIL HIRAMANEK, et al.,
Plaintiffs,

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Case No. 3:13-cv-00228-JD
ORDER RE BILL OF COSTS

v.

Re: Dkt. Nos. 781-82
BETH MILLER, et al.,
Defendants.
Pro se plaintiffs Adil and Roda Hiramanek object to the costs taxed against them as the

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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losing parties. Dkt. No. 782. This action has traveled a long and troubled course through more

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than 800 individual docket entries and the courtrooms of several district and magistrate judges. It

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involved a multiplicity of claims against California state courts and employees, all of which have

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now been stricken, dismissed or adjudicated against the Hiramaneks. As Judge Whyte, who

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previously oversaw this matter, found in a similar case brought by Adil Hiramanek, resolution of

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the claims alleged here required the court and defendants “to expend excessive resources,” and the

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lawsuit as a whole was “harassing and largely frivolous.” Hiramanek v. California Judicial

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Council, No. 15-cv-4377-RMW, 2016 WL 6427870, at *8 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 31, 2016). For this and

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other misconduct, the Hiramaneks have been declared vexatious litigants in this district and in

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California state court. Id. at *8-9; Dkt. No. 769.

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Most of the prevailing defendants agreed to bear their own attorneys’ fees and costs upon

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dismissal. See, e.g., Dkt. No. 802. Defendants Beth Miller and the Santa Clara Superior Court did

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not, and they filed a bill of costs seeking to recover $14,058.01 from the Hiramaneks. Dkt. No.

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761. The Clerk of the Court taxed costs in the amount of $9,130.99 after disallowing a portion of

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the claim for transcripts under Civil Local Rule 54-3(c). Dkt. No. 781. Virtually all of the taxed

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costs are for transcript fees save for $394.21 in subpoena fees. Id.

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Despite the reduction in allowed costs, the Hiramaneks filed almost 100 pages of
objections. Dkt. No. 782. In overwhelming part, these objections are vituperative attacks on

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judges and court personnel that have nothing at all to do with the propriety of the taxed costs. The

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Court strikes all of the pejorative comments in the objections and attached declaration.

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For what little remains on the merits, the Hiramaneks do not offer any facts or case law

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that disturb the clerk’s cost award. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(d)(1) provides that

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“[u]nless a federal statute, these rules, or a court order provides otherwise, costs -- other than

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attorney’s fees -- should be allowed to the prevailing party.” See also Civil Local Rule 54-3. As

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this plain language indicates, “Rule 54(d) creates a presumption for awarding costs to prevailing

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parties; the losing party must show why costs should not be awarded.” Save Our Valley v. Sound

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Transit, 335 F.3d 932, 944-45 (9th Cir. 2003). Because of this presumption, the district court need
not give any affirmative reason or explanation for awarding costs, and bears no burden to justify

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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routine cost awards. Id. at 945-46.

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That is enough to confirm the taxed costs, and the Hiramaneks have not provided any

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reason for the Court to depart from the award. Their suggestion that costs are improper because

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they cannot afford to pay them is unsupported. It is true that they were granted IFP status at the

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start of this litigation. But IFP plaintiffs are not automatically protected from the taxation of costs

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in favor of the prevailing party. Warren v. Guelker, 29 F.3d 1386, 1390 (9th Cir. 1994). The

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Hiramaneks did not proffer with their objections meaningful evidence of an inability to pay, and

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cannot skirt costs on that ground. See Thomasson v. GC Servs. Ltd. P’ship, No. 05-cv-940-LAB,

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2007 WL 3203037, at *4 (S.D. Cal. Oct. 29, 2007).

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The suggestion that they should be spared costs under the Americans with Disabilities Act,

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42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. (“ADA”), is also ill-taken. The Supreme Court has determined that a

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prevailing defendant in a Title VII case can obtain attorneys’ fees only when the plaintiff’s action

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“was frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation.” Christiansburg Garment Co. v. EEOC, 434

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U.S. 412, 421 (1978). This limitation is intended to ensure that plaintiffs are not unduly chilled

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from pursuing legitimate if ultimately unsuccessful enforcement actions. Id. at 421-22. The Ninth

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Circuit has applied the same standard to the award of costs under the ADA. Martin v. California

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Dept. of Veterans Affairs, 560 F.3d 1042, 1052 (9th Cir. 2009).

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This is not a safe harbor for the Hiramaneks. As an initial matter, the ADA claims were

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just part of the overall constellation of claims they alleged. And while the ADA claims figured

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against the Santa Clara Superior Court, the claim against Miller was for alleged racial

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discrimination only. Dkt. No. 784 at 2-3. As defendants state, the bulk of the taxed costs are

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attributable to the trial at which the jury found in favor of Miller on that allegation. Id.; see also

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Dkt. No. 758. The Hiramaneks make no effort to account for these uncontested facts, but merely

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assert, without foundation, a blanket immunity from costs under the ADA for all purposes.
Even if, purely for discussion purposes, the Hiramaneks’ proposition were taken at face

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value, the Court has no trouble finding that their ADA claims were frivolous and unreasonable.

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The summary judgment orders dismissing the ADA claims for telephonic court appearances and

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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other accommodations amply establish that the Hiramaneks had no basis in fact or law for a

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disability discrimination cause of action. Dkt. Nos. 546, 570. In addition, Judge Whyte clearly

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deemed this case as a whole, including the ADA claims, to be frivolous in the order finding Adil

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Hiramanek to be a vexatious litigant. Hiramanek, 2016 WL 6427870, at *8.

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Costs are imposed against the Hiramaneks in the amount taxed by the Clerk of the Court.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: June 13, 2017

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JAMES DONATO
United States District Judge

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