Michael Borovsky Goldsmith LLC v. Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company

Filing 34

ORDER granting in part 33 Motion for Bill of Costs. Signed by Peter A. Moore, Jr., Clerk of Court on 8/21/2019. (Sellers, N.)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
WESTERN DIVISION
No. 5:17-CV-197-D
MICHAEL BOROVSKY GOLDSMITH
LLC, D/B/A MB GOLDSMITHS,
Plaintiff,
V.

JEWELERS MUTUAL INSURANCE
COMPANY,

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ORDER ON BILL OF COSTS

Defendant.
This matter is before the clerk on the unopposed motion for bill of costs [DE-33] filed by
defendant Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company. Plaintiff has failed to respond in opposition to
the motion. For the reasons set forth below, the motion is GRANTED in part.
BACKGROUND

On January 9, 2019, the court granted defendant's motion for summary judgment and
denied plaintiffs motion for partial summary judgment [DE-31]. The clerk entered judgment in
favor of defendant that same day [DE-32]. Defendant timely filed a motion for bill of costs on
January 15, 2019 [DE-33].
DISCUSSION

Defendant seeks costs under Rule 54(d)(l) as the prevailing party in this action. See Fed.
R. Civ. P. 54(d)(l) ("Unless a federal statute, these rules, or a court order provides otherwise,

costs----other than attorney's fees-should be allowed to the prevailing party."). Federal courts
may assess only those costs listed in 28 U.S.C. § 1920. See Arlington Cent. Sch. Bd. of Educ. v.
Murphy, 548 U.S. 291, 301 (2006); Crawford Fitting Co. v. J.T. Gibbons, Inc., 482 U.S. 437,

441-42 (1987), superseded on other grounds by statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1988. Local Civil Rule 54.l
"further refines the scope of recoverable costs." Earp v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., No.
5:11-CV-680-D, 2014 WL 4105678, at *1 (E.D.N.C. Aug. 19, 2014). In this case, defendant
seeks recovery of $1,989.65 in costs from plaintiff.
Specifically, defendant seeks $400.00 for the filing fee and administrative fee it paid to
remove the action to this court, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1920(1); $1,481.85 in fees for the
transcripts obtained for use in the case, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1920(2), and $107.80 for witness
fees, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1920(3).

The clerk has reviewed the motion and supporting

documentation, and finds that as the prevailing party, defendant is entitled to the costs of the fees
associated with the removal of this action and the costs of the witness fees. The requests for fees
in the amount of $400.00 and $107 .80, respectively, are granted.
Defendant's request for fees for the transcripts necessarily obtained for use in the case,
however, includes fees for exhibit copies, in the amount of $209.65, and delivery, in the amount
of $12.50. This court has construed 28 U.S.C. § 1920(2) and Local Civil Rule 54.1 as not
encompassing those charges. See Dutton v. Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P., No. 4:11-CV-94-BO,
2015 WL 1643025, at *2 (E.D.N.C. March 13, 2015) ("In construing 28 U.S.C. § 1920 and
Local Civil Rule 54.1, this court has also denied fees for copies of deposition exhibits, read and
sign, rough drafts, litigation support packages, ASCII disks, shipping, handling and expedited
processing."); Nwaebube v. Employ't Sec. Comm'n of N.C., No. 5:09-CV-395-F, 2012 WL
3643667, at *1 (E.D.N.C. Aug. 21, 2012) (disallowing costs of exhibit copies); Parrish v.
Johnston Comty. Coll. No. 5:09-CV-22-H, slip. op. at 2-3 (E.D.N.C. Feb. 13, 2012) (observing
that "Local Civil Rule 54.l(c)(l)(a) specifies that taxable costs incident to the taking of
depositions normally include only the court reporter's fee and the fee for the original transcript

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of the deposition"). Accordingly, defendant's request for transcript fees is granted in part, and
defendant's fees in the amount of $1,259.70 is taxed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1920(2).
CONCLUSION
In summary, defendant's motion for costs [DE-33] is GRANTED in part

As the

prevailing party, defendant Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company is awarded (1) $400.00 in costs
pursuant to § 1920(1); (2) $1,259.70 in costs pursuant to § 1920(2), and (3) $107.80 in costs
pursuant to § 1920(3). Total costs in the amount of $1,767.50 are taxed against plaintiff and
shall be included in the judgment.
SO ORDERED. This the

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day of August, 2019.

~~L_

Peter A. Moore, Jr.
Clerk of Court

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