Murawski et al v. ZNS Cargo, Inc. et al

Filing 71

ORDER granting in part and denying in part 60 Plaintiff's motion for reconsideration. Signed on 12/12/2018 by District Judge Roseann Ketchmark. (Stout, Courtney)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
SOUTHWESTERN DIVISION

BEATRICE MURAWSKI,
Plaintiff,
v.
ZNS CARGO, INC., DAVRANOV
BAKHODIR,
Defendants.

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No. 3:18-05010-CV-RK

ORDER
Before the Court is Plaintiff’s Motion for Reconsideration. (Doc. 60.) Suggestions in
opposition and reply suggestions were filed. (Docs. 62, 66.) For the reasons explained below,
Plaintiff’s Motion for Reconsideration is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.
On October 19, 2018, the Court granted Plaintiff’s motion seeking to cancel the deposition
of Defendant Davranov Bakhodir scheduled for October 23, 2018, in Brooklyn, New York.
(Doc. 56.) On October 22, 2018, the Court ordered Plaintiff to pay Defendant’s reasonably
incurred costs for the cancellation, including attorney’s fees and travel expenses. (Doc. 59.) The
court ordered Defendant to submit an affidavit and any other evidence of costs incurred as a result
of Plaintiff’s cancellation within fourteen (14) days. (Doc. 59.)
In compliance with the Court, Defendant submitted affidavits in support of its claims for
reasonable expenses. (Doc. 62.) Defendant seeks a total reimbursement of $1,545.41 from
Plaintiff in reasonable expenses resulting from the cancelled deposition including airfare, lodging
for three nights, and attorney’s fees. Of this total amount, Defendant’s counsel seeks $352.91 in
lodging and airfare expenses and $1,192.50 in attorney’s fees for time expended preparing the
witness for the deposition. Plaintiff argues it is only proper for Plaintiff to pay for nonrefundable
travel expenses for one night of lodging.
A. Airfare
While Defendant’s counsel agrees to only seek one half of its airfare amount, the Court
finds the award of any airfare inappropriate. Defendant’s counsel traveled to New York for other

business, despite the cancelling of the deposition. Accordingly, because Defendant’s counsel used
the airfare for other business, airfare shall not be reimbursed.
B. Lodging
Next, Defendant’s counsel seeks reimbursement for lodging expenses for three nights
beginning October 21, 2018, through October 24, 2018. At the time the deposition was cancelled,
the lodging was nonrefundable. Defendant’s counsel seeks to have Plaintiff pay one half of the
total lodging expenses. However, the record before the Court does not reflect why Defendant’s
counsel would require three nights of lodging as opposed to one for a deposition. Plaintiff shall
reimburse Defendant’s counsel $183.86 for one night of lodging.
C. Attorney’s Fees
Finally, Defendant’s counsel seeks to have all attorney’s fees that were expended in
connection with reviewing, meeting with, and preparing the Defendant Davranov for deposition
on October 22, 2018. However, the record before the Court does not provide how much additional
attorney work hours were required to “refresh” or “re-prepare” Defendant Davranov for the
rescheduled deposition on November 28, 2018. As a result, the Court is unable to determine how
many attorney work hours were wasted in preparation for the cancelled October 23, 2018,
deposition. Accordingly, Defendant’s counsel is not awarded any attorney’s fees at this time.
Conclusion
After careful consideration, Plaintiff’s Motion for Reconsideration (doc. 60) is
GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Plaintiff is ORDERED to reimburse Defendant for
one night of lodging in the amount of $183.86.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
s/ Roseann A. Ketchmark
ROSEANN A. KETCHMARK, JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DATED: December 12, 2018

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