House et al v. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation et al

Filing 46

ORDER granting 45 Motion for Bill of Costs. As prevailing parties defendants Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation and Brock & Scott, PLLC are awarded $2,372.25 in costs pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1920(2) and these costs are taxed against plaintiffs and shall be included in the judgment. Signed by Peter A. Moore, Jr., Clerk of Court on 8/15/2017. (Briggeman, N.)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
EASTERN DIVISION
No. 4:14-CV-129-D
SHONTAY HOUSE and MARY VEGA,
Plaintiffs,
v.
FEDERAL HOME LOAN MORTGAGE
CORPORATION, BROCK & SCOTT,
PLLC,
Defendants.

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ORDER ON BILL OF COSTS

This matter is before the clerk on the amended motion for bill of costs [DE-45]
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~lea

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by

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defendants Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation and Brock & Scott, PLLC. Plaintiffs f~iled
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to file any objections or a motion for disallowance of costs, and the time for doing so has

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e~p*ed.

See Local Civil Rule 54.l(b)(l). T_he matter is therefore ripe for determination. For the reasons
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set forth below, the amended motion for bill of costs is granted.

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BACKGROUND

On September 28, 2016, the court granted defendants' motion for summary judgment,
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denied plaintiffs motion for partial summary judgment, and entered judgment in
defendants [DE-39]. Defendants timely filed a motion for bill of costs [DE-40] on

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f~vot

of

Octo~J 12,
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2016.
Defendants sought, inter

~Zia, costs associated with deposition transcripts pursuar1.t t0 28
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U.S.C. § 1920. The clerk found that the transcripts were necessarily obtained for use in t4e qase,
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but also found that the costs sought by defendants included charges for items not

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enco~pa~sed

within § 1920 and Local Civil Rule 54.1, including charges for shipping and handling, :exllibit

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copies, witness signature letters, and expedited processing. The clerk also noted that the iLoices

for the depositions also included charges for "Original/Copy" of the deposition

transcrip~, Jhile

Local Civil Rule 54.l(c)(l)(a) specifies that allowable costs normally only include the chLgl for
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the original transcript of the deposition. Accordingly, the clerk denied defendants' motionfmi bill
of costs as to the deposition transcripts, without prejudice to defendants to reapply for the 9oJs of

the original transcripts within 14 days.
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Defendants timely filed the amended motion for bill of costs. No opposition or motion. for
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disallowance was filed.
DISCUSSION
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As the prevailing parties in this action, defendants seek recovery of $2,3 72.25 in de~osition
costs under Rule 54(d)(l). See Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(d)(l) ("Uuless a federal statnte, these

lie~, or
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a court order provides otherwise, costs----0ther than attorney's fees-should be allowed to! the
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prevailing party."); 28 U.S.C. § 1920(2) (denominating as allowable the costs the

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"[fJf:e~1 for

printed or electronically recorded transcripts necessarily obtained for use in the case").

Defendants' amended motion for bill of co~ts now excludes fees for shipping and hahdling,
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exhibit copies,

~itness signature letters, and expedited processing.

Defendants also statl. iJ the

motion that the requested rate per page was for the original transcript, implicitly sugges+g that

the requested costs did not include charges for copies of the deposition transcript.

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The clerk again finds that the depositions were necessarily obtained for use in

t~e case.

Having reviewed the amended motion, the declaration of counsel, and attached invoices, tJe jlerk
GRANTS the amended motion for bill of costs [DE-45] and defendants are awarded $2,37!2.d5 in
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deposition costs pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1920(2).

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CONCLUSION
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In summary, as prevailing parties defendants Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corpof'in
and Brock & Scott, PLLC are awarded $2,372.25 in costs pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1920(2)iano
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these costs are taxed against plaintiffs and shall be included in the judgment.

SO ORDERED. This the

/fday of August, 2017.

eter A. Moore, Jr.
Clerk of Court

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