Laramore v. City of Kenosha et al

Filing 54

ORDER signed by Judge J P Stadtmueller on 12/21/09 that the defendant shall be entitled to recover his costs in the amended amount of $l,092.82 from plaintiff. See Order. (cc: all counsel)(nm)

Download PDF
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN ____________________________________________ Y A S IN LARAMORE, as father and next best friend of HAKEEM JOHNSON, a minor, P l a i n t if f , v. J O S H U A ZELLER, D e fe n d a n t. ____________________________________________ Case No. 07-CV-367 ORDER O n November 18, 2008, following a jury trial in this matter, the jury returned a verdict in favor of defendant. Accordingly, on November 19, 2008, the court e n te re d judgment in favor of defendant, dismissing this case, and awarding d e fe n d a n t recovery of his costs from plaintiff. Defendant submitted a bill of costs in th e amount of $2,549.27. P la in tiff objected to the bill of costs on the ground that plaintiff should be e xc u s e d from paying such costs on the basis of indigency. The court has c o n s id e re d plaintiff's argument, yet holds, in its discretion, that plaintiff is responsible fo r payment of defendant's recoverable costs. P la in tiff next objects to the amount of the bill of costs. Plaintiff argues that d e fe n d a n t has impermissibly included costs of demonstrative evidence. See Civil L o c a l Rule 54.2(e) ("Costs of demonstrative evidence created for use in the case . . . m u s t never be taxed unless the party requesting taxation obtained Court approval o n motion for such costs brought prior to the time the costs were incurred . . . prior to the time such evidence is used at trial."). The costs, $1,288.32, are that of e n la rg in g photographs and medical records for use as exhibits at trial. Defendant c o u n te rs that these are not demonstrative-evidence costs, but rather copies-ofp a p e rs costs, which is recoverable under Civ. L.R. 54.2(d). D e m o n s tra tive evidence is defined by Black's Dictionary (8th ed.) as: "Physical e vid e n c e that one can see and inspect (i.e., an explanatory aid, such as a chart, m a p , and some computer simulations) and that, while of probative value and usually o f f e r e d to clarify testimony, does not play a direct part in the incident in question." E n la rg e d photos and medical bills are demonstrative evidence, and thus recovery for their attendant costs is barred (unless the preparing party obtained prior court a p p ro va l) by Civ. L.R. 54.2(e). However, this is not to say that defendant's argument is meritless. Costs incurred from enlarging and mounting photos and documents are taxa b le under 28 U.S.C. § 1920(4) ­ the statute underlying Civ. L.R. 54.2(d). H o w e ve r, Civ. L.R. 54.2(e) imposes an additional restriction not present in 28 U.S.C. § 1920. It is that additional restriction that prevents defendant from recovering the $ 1 ,2 8 8 .3 2 of enlargement costs. P la in tiff also claims that defendant has impermissibly included the cost of c o n ve rtin g depositions into ASCII format ($50.00), and the cost of shipping the d e p o s itio n transcripts ($19.00), and that defendant has overcharged on transcription ra tes ($47.33 overcharge) and for copies of transcripts ($51.80 overcharge). D e fe n d a n t concedes that plaintiff is right as to these four issues. Thus, the court will 2 re d u c e the amount recoverable by these four amounts, as well as by the amount for th e photo and document enlargements. In accordance with the above findings, the court concurs with plaintiff that the ta xa b le costs are $1,092.82.1 A c c o r d in g ly , I T IS ORDERED that defendant shall be entitled to recover his costs, in the a m o u n t of $1,092.82, from plaintiff. D a te d at Milwaukee, W is c o n s in , this 21st day of December, 2009. BY THE COURT: J .P . Stadtmueller U .S . District Judge 1 Original Am o u n t Sought by Defendant: $2,549.27 M in u s Cost of Creating Dem o n s tr a tiv e s : 1,288.32 M in u s Cost of ASCII Conversion: 50.00 M in u s Shipping Costs: 19.00 M in u s Excessive Transcript Fees: 47.33 M in u s Excessive Transcript Copy Fees: 51.80 N e w Total: $ 1 ,0 9 2 .8 2 3

Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.


Why Is My Information Online?