Orio v. DAL Global Services, LLC
Filing
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Order granting in part and denying in part 51 Motion for Bill of Costs. The court awards 60 percent of Defendant's total requested cost of $1,986.00, for a cost award of $1,191.60. Signed by Chief Judge Frances M. Tydingco-Gatewood on 3/19/2018. (fad, )
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THE DISTRICT COURT OF GUAM
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CIVIL CASE NO. 14-00023
JOCELYN A. ORIO,
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Plaintiff,
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ORDER
vs.
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DAL GLOBAL SERVICES, LLC,
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Defendant.
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Before the court is Defendant DAL Global Services, LLC.’s Bill of Costs. See ECF No.
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51. For the reasons stated herein, Defendant’s Bill of Costs is GRANTED in part and DENIED
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in part.
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On December 24, 2014, Plaintiff Jocelyn A. Orio (“Plaintiff”) filed a Complaint against
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Defendant DAL Global Services, LLC (“Defendant”), alleging violations under Title VII of the
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Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Defendant filed a
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motion for summary judgment, which this court granted. Thereafter, Plaintiff filed a motion for
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reconsideration, which this court denied. The court now considers the Bill of Costs filed by
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Defendant.
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Plaintiff opposes the Bill of Costs. She argues that Defendant is not entitled to costs
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under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) “and related Title VII case law” unless the
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court finds that Plaintiff’s action was frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation pursuant to
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the Christiansburg standard. See ECF No. 54 at 1.
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The court agrees in part. The Ninth Circuit in Brown v. Lucky Stores, Inc. held
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that “the Christiansburg test [] applies to an award of costs to a prevailing defendant
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under the ADA.” Brown, 246 F.3d 1182, 1190 (9th Cir. 2001). Thus, in order for this
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court to award costs under the ADA claims, the court must first find that Plaintiff’s
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action was frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation. Christiansburg Garment
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Co. v. Equal Employment Opportunity, 98 S.Ct. 694, 700 (1978).
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In Christiansburg, the Supreme Court cautioned that
. . . because a plaintiff did not ultimately prevail, his action must have
been unreasonable or without foundation. This kind of hindsight logic
would discourage all but the most airtight claims, for seldom can a
prospective plaintiff be sure of ultimate success. . . Even when the law or
the facts appear questionable or unfavorable at the outset, a party may
have an entirely reasonable ground for bringing suit.
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Christiansburg Garment Co., 98 S.Ct. at 700-01.
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As such, this court declines to find Plaintiff’s ADA claims to be frivolous, unreasonable
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or without foundation, simply because it ruled in favor of Defendant’s summary judgment
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motion. As this court noted in its decision, “a sufficiently severe or pervasive hostile work
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environment based on disability presents a high bar.” See Order, ECF No. 44, at 30 (emphasis
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added). Although Plaintiff did suffer some kind of harassment, this court found that “the
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harassment [Plaintiff] experienced was not enough to amount to a disability discrimination
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claim.” Id. at 32. The fact that the court found for the Defendant in the summary judgment
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motion does not equate to the claims being frivolous, unreasonable or without foundation.
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Accordingly, the court will not award costs under the ADA.
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The court will, however, award costs under the Title VII claims. The Ninth Circuit held
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that “[t]here is no express statutory provision for applying Christiansburg to cost awards [under
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Title VII], and [it] see[s] no reason to impose rigid limitations on the district court’s discretion.”
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Nat’l Org. for Women v. Bank of California, Nat’l Ass’n, 680 F.2d 1291, 1294 (9th Cir. 1982).
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See also Martin v. California Dept. of Veterans Affairs, 560 F.3d 1042, 1052 (9th Cir. 2009)
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(noting that the Christiansburg test applies to an award of costs under ADA but not to an award
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of costs under Title VII).
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1920, a federal court may tax specific items as costs against a losing
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party pursuant to Rule 54(d)(1). Rule 54 provides that “[u]nless a federal statute, these rules, or a
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court order provides otherwise, costs—other than attorney’s fees—should be allowed to the
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prevailing party.” FED. R. CIV. P. 54(d)(1). Thus, the rule creates a presumption in favor of
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awarding costs to a prevailing party and that it should be awarded “as a matter of course in the
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ordinary case.” Ass’n of Mexican-American Educators v. State of California, 231 F.3d 572, 591-
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93 (9th Cir. 2000).
Here, Defendant requests costs for filing fees, service of summons and subpoena,
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deposition transcripts, and photocopying. These are all permissible under 28 U.S.C. § 1920.
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Where a defendant prevails on a claim that entitles the defendant to costs in addition to
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ADA claims that do not, a district court may award costs for the non-ADA claim in proportion to
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the percentage of the total litigation that claim represents. See Martin, 560 F.3d at 1052. In this
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case, the court finds that Plaintiff’s Title VII claims were her primary claims and her ADA
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claims came close to that.1 Accordingly, the court awards 60 percent of Defendant’s total
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requested cost of $1,986.00, for a cost award of $1,191.60.
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SO ORDERED.
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/s/ Frances M. Tydingco-Gatewood
Chief Judge
Dated: Mar 19, 2018
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Defendant argues that since parts of Plaintiff’s ADA claim were abandoned, that “the ADA claim represents no
more than 30% of the total lawsuit, and fees should be no less than 70% of that claimed.” ECF No. 56, at 3. The
court disagrees. Although Plaintiff clarified at the summary judgment motion hearing that she was not actively
pursuing a reasonable accommodation request (because she is no longer employed by Defendant), Plaintiff
maintained that she was terminated because Defendant refused to accommodate. See ECF No. 48, at 4-14.
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