The California Code of Civil Procedure stipulates that “a prevailing party is entitled as a matter of right to recover costs in any action or proceeding.” Code Civ. Proc., § 1032(4)(b). However, the non-prevailing party can dispute the costs listed in the prevailing party's costs memorandum by filing a motion to tax costs.
The “prevailing party” includes “the party with a net monetary recovery, a defendant in whose favor a dismissal is entered, a defendant where neither plaintiff nor defendant obtains any relief, and a defendant as against those plaintiffs who do not recover any relief against that defendant. If any party recovers other than monetary relief and in situations other than as specified, the 'prevailing party' shall be as determined by the court, and under those circumstances, the court, in its discretion, may allow costs or not and, if allowed, may apportion costs between the parties on the same or adverse sides pursuant to rules adopted under Section 1034.” Code Civ. Proc., § 1032(4).
On a motion to tax costs, “[i]f the items appearing in a cost bill appear to be proper charges, the burden is on the party seeking to tax costs to show that they were not reasonable or necessary. On the other hand, if the items are properly objected to, they are put in issue and the burden of proof is on the party claiming them as costs. Whether a cost item was reasonably necessary to the litigation presents a question of fact for the trial court and its decision is reviewed for abuse of discretion. However, because the right to costs is governed strictly by statute a court has no discretion to award costs not statutorily authorized.” Ladas v. Cal. State Auto. Assn. (1993) 19 Cal.App.4th 761, 774.
“Unless objection is made to the entire cost memorandum, the motion to strike or tax costs must refer to each item objected to by the same number and appear in the same order as the corresponding cost item claimed on the memorandum of costs and must state why the item is objectionable.” Cal. Rules of Court 3.1700(2). “There is no requirement that copies of bills, invoices, statements, or any other such documents be attached to the memorandum. Only if the costs have been put in issue via a motion to tax costs must supporting documentation be submitted.” Jones v. Dumrichob (1998) 63 Cal.App.4th 1258, 1267.
“The court’s first determination, therefore, is whether the statute expressly allows the item, and whether it appears proper on its face. If so, the burden is on the objecting party to show them to be unnecessary or unreasonable.” Nelson v. Anderson (1999) 72 Cal.App.4th 111, 131. The objecting party does not meet this burden by arguing that the costs were not necessary or reasonable, but must present evidence and prove that the costs are not recoverable. Litt v. Med. Ctr. (2015) 237 Cal.App.4th 1217, 1224; Seever v. Copley Press, Inc. (2006) 141 Cal.App.4th 1550, 1557.
Code of Civil Procedure section 1033.5, subdivision (a) sets forth items that are allowable as costs. Allowable costs under Section 1033.5 must be “reasonably necessary to the conduct of this litigation rather than merely convenient or beneficial to its preparation” and “reasonable in amount.” Any items “not mentioned in this section and items assessed upon application may be allowed or denied in the court's discretion.” Code Civ. Proc., § 1033.5(16)(c)(2), (3), and (4).
Pursuant to California Rule of Court 3.1700, “any notice of motion to strike or to tax costs must be served and filed 15 days after service of the cost memorandum. If the cost memorandum was served by mail, the period is extended as provided in Code of Civil Procedure section 1013. If the cost of memorandum was served electronically, the period is extended as provided in Code of Civil Procedure section 1010.6(a)(4).” Cal. Rules of Court 3.1700(1).
“The party claiming costs and the party contesting costs may agree to extend the time for serving and filing the cost memorandum and a motion to strike or tax costs. This agreement must be confirmed in writing, specify the extended date for service, and be filed with the clerk. In the absence of an agreement, the court may extend the times for serving and filing the cost memorandum or the notice of motion to strike or tax costs for a period not to exceed 30 days.” Cal. Rules of Court 3.1700(3).
...which is not shown to be a court record. Plaintiffs may not recover their costs of suit for the trial. Plaintiffs filed a Memorandum of Costs, defendant moved to tax costs, and this court granted the motion on February 16, 2018 on the ground that there was no prevailing party at trial because plaintiffs prevailed on two issues (Judgment ¶¶2 and 3B) and defendant prevailed on five issues (Judgment ¶¶1A, 1...
...bag. Plaintiffs may recover the attorneys’ fees they incurred on or before the date the original Judgment was entered, December 28, 2017, notwithstanding CRC Rule 3.1702(b)(1), which provides that any “motion to claim attorney’s fees for services up to and including the rendition of judgment in the trial court-including attorney’s fees on an appeal before the rendition of judgment in the trial court-must b...
Feb 21, 2020
SUBJECT: Motion to Amend Judgment Moving Party: Defendant/Cross-Complainants Eri Kroh and 1400 Linda Flora Associates, LLC Responding Party: Amir Babak Mirdamadi Kroh/1400’s motion to amend judgment is DENIED. BACKGROUND: On December 18, 2015, Plaintiff Unique Homes by Caspian, Inc. (“Unique”) commenced this action against Defendants Eri Kroh and Hankey Capital, LLC for (1) br...
...of work. (Id.) During the construction, material changes were made to the approved plans and specifications, and Unique incurred additional costs. (Id. at ¶ 9.) Kroh agreed to pay for these additional costs and Unique proceeded with the work. (Id.) Unique alleges that Kroh failed to pay the agreed-upon compensation and improperly terminated the contract. (Id. at ¶ 11.) Unique alleges that all defendants ...
Feb 20, 2020
HEARING DATE: February 18, 2020 CASE NUMBER: 19STCV04011 CASE NAME: Maria Cano v. General Motors, LLC TRIAL DATE: March 24, 2020 MOTION: Motion to Compel Further Responses to Form Interrogatories MOVING PARTIES: Plaintiff, Maria Cano OPPOSING PARTY: Defendant, General Motors, LLC PROOF OF SERVICE: OK OPPOSITION: February 5, 2020 REPLY: F...
...further responses to form interrogatories is GRANTED as to 1.1, 15.1 and 17.1 and otherwise denied. Plaintiff is to provide notice and GM is to provide further, verified responses within 20 days. MOTION: Motion to Compel Further Responses to Requests for Production MOVING PARTIES: Plaintiff, Maria Cano OPPOSING PARTY: Defendant, General Motors, LLC PROOF OF SERVICE: OK OPPOSITION: February 5, 2020 REPLY...
Feb 20, 2020
...verdict is denied. Defendant’s motion to tax plaintiffs’ cost memorandum in the amount of $5,424.98 is granted. In all other respects, defendant’s motion to tax plaintiffs’ costs is denied. Plaintiffs’ motion for attorney’s fees is granted. Plaintiffs are awarded attorney’s fees in the amount of $225,000. Plaintiffs’ request for expert witness fees pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Section 998 is denied....
... costs for $38,548.09. Both sides have filed motions for attorney’s fees and expert fees. In addition, plaintiffs have filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and defendant has filed a motion to strike or, in the alternative, to tax plaintiffs’ cost bill. ANALYSIS: Plaintiffs’ Motion for Judgment Notwithstanding Verdict Plaintiffs move for an order for judgment notwithstanding the verdi...
Feb 19, 2020
The Motion (ROA # 250) of Defendants / Cross-Complainants / Cross-Defendants STEHLY FARMS MARKET, LLC, CHRISTINA M. STEHLY, STELLA MELLOS-STEHLY, JEROME J. STEHLY, CHRISTINA M. STEHLY, AS CO-TRUSTEE OF THE JEROM...
...basis that the Motion does not include a Notice of Motion. _____ The Motion (ROA # 251) of Plaintiff ROYCROFT PROPERTIES, LLC ("Plaintiff") for an order to tax costs set forth in the Memorandum of Costs filed and served by Defendant / Cross-Defendant OLIVER GERMAN DBA OG SYSTEMS REFRIGERATION CO. ("Defendant" or "German"), is GRANTED. Preliminarily, the Court has read and considered the opposition an...
Feb 19, 2020
On Defendants' motion to vacate the judgment and enter a new and different judgment, the motion is granted. Defendants shall make an up-front payment of $1,499,340.98, which includes the lump sum calculations submitted by Plaintiffs, and prejudgment interest of $74,970.48. Post-judgment interest...
...prepare a periodic payment Judgment consistent with the Court's ruling. Defendants' motion for partial judgment notwithstanding the verdict is denied as moot. On Defendants' motion for new trial, the motion is denied on the grounds that the Court finds there was no error in giving jury instruction CACI No. 518. Assuming arguendo that there was error, such error was harmless in that there was no resulting...
Feb 19, 2020
Tamara L Mosbarger
The Motion (ROA # 297, 305, 312) of Plaintiffs ALFONSE VIRGILIO, TRUSTEE OF THE VIRGILIO FAMILY TRUST, et al., on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated ("Plaintiffs") for an order, pursuant to C...
...Civil Procedure 1033.5 and Rule 3.1700(b) of the California Rules of Court, to Strike or Tax the Fidelity Defendants' Memorandum of Costs, is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. The Motion to strike the costs memorandum is DENIED. The Court's file reflects that Plaintiffs served the proposed order dismissing tis action on Defendants - ROA # 294; however, there is no evidence that the actual order was serve...
Feb 19, 2020
Nature of Proceedings: (2) Attorney Fee Motions; Motion to Tax Costs Tentative not yet posted, please check again.
Feb 19, 2020
# 8. Kareemah Mateen-Bradford v. City of Compton et al. Case No.: TC026769 Matter on calendar for: Motion to Tax Costs; Motion for Attorneys’ Fees (x3) Tentative ruling: I. Background This case went to trial on May 22, 2019. On June 11, 2019, the jury found for Bradford on her retaliation claim and awarded $655,000...
...resulting in three motions for attorneys’ fees. The motions are opposed. Current Motions: · Defendant’s Motion to Tax Costs · Motion for Attorneys’ Fees o Gladius Law, APC o The Simon Law Group, LLP · Motion for Attorneys’ Fees o Kraft Miles, A Law Corporation (formerly Kraft, Miles & Miller, LLP) · Motion for Attorneys’ Fees o Wesierski & Zurek, LLP The court needs additional time to further review t...
Feb 18, 2020
Salvatore Sirna or Gary Y. Tanaka
Motion: By petitioner for approval of transfer of structured settlement payments Tentative Ruling: To deny and dismiss petition with prejudice on the basis that the transfer is not in the best interests of D...
...petitions and the denial orders are not provided. Mr. Chavarria states that his monthly income aside from the $1,300 structured settlement payment is $2,000. He proposes that he sell all of his $1,300 tax-free monthly payments from December 2020, an additional $50,000 payment due in less than three years, as well as most of his last lump sum payment, at an immediate loss of $65,000 of the payments’ cur...
Feb 18, 2020
Tentative Ruling: Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement The Court issues the following tentative ruling for the hearing on February 21, 2020, at 9:30 a.m. regarding the motion for preliminary approval of class action settlement filed by Plaintiffs Manuela "Aila" Kahlfuss, Trendete Randolph, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated. No opposition has been ...
...RE-SET TO FEBRUARY 28, 2020 AT 9:30 A.M. While the Court's ruling tentatively indicates that it will grant preliminary approval of the class action settlement, the Court must still hold a hearing on the motion as it may involve the receipt of evidence. Thus, while the Court anticipates that neither Plaintiffs nor Defendant will request oral argument, and while no class member has indicated any intent to app...
Feb 18, 2020
...filed and served on plaintiff’s counsel a memorandum of costs seeking recovery of $180 in costs for filing and motion fees. There is no motion to strike or tax costs in the court’s file. “Any notice of motion to strike or to tax costs must be served and filed 15 days after service of the cost memorandum. If the cost memorandum was served by mail, the period is extended as provided in Code of Civil Procedur...
...Procedure, section 1013.” (Rules of Court, Rule 3.1700(b)(1).) “After the time has passed for a motion to strike or tax costs or for determination of that motion, the clerk must immediately enter the costs on the judgment.” (Rules of Court, Rule 3.1700(b)(4).) Defendant moves for an award of attorney fees in the amount of $7,830, which includes two hours to review an opposition and prepare a reply and o...
Feb 14, 2020
Jee yong shin & STEFAN J. SHINN Plaintiffs, v. HILTON & HYLAND REAL ESTATE, INC., et. al. Defendants. Case No.: BC673414 Hearing Date: February 14, 2020 [TENTATIVE] order RE: motions for summary judgment or, in the alternative, summary adjudication BACKGROUND A. Shinn Action Plaintiffs Jee Yong Shin and Stefan J. Shinn (“Shin/Shinn”) commenced this action against Defendants Hi...
...Property. Shin/Shinn and the Hansens are presently engaged in an arbitration dispute regarding the scope and cost of repairs to be made to the Property because State Farm never agreed to pay the repair costs directly to Shin/Shinn’s contractors. Instead, State Farm made payments to the Hansens, and the Hansens have attempted to dictate what requested repairs are reasonable and the reasonable amount owed f...
Feb 14, 2020
TENTATIVE RULING Calendar: 1 Date: 2/14/20 Case No: 19 GDCP00462 Case Name: The Mortgage Law Firm, PLC v. All Claimants to Surplus Funds After Trustee’s Sale, etc. MOTION TO ALLOW PETITIONER TO DEPOSIT SURPLUS TRUSTEE’S SALE PROCEEDS [Civil Code §2924j, 2924k] SUMMARY OF FACTS: Petitioner The Mortgage Law Firm PLC is the foreclosing trustee under a Deed of Trust con...
...property, and on June 19, 2019 the Trustee’s Deed Upon Sale was recorded. The foreclosure resulted in surplus funds, representing the portion of the sale proceeds remaining after payment of the fees and costs of sale and the obligations on the subject first Deed of Trust, in the sum of $393,314.10. On July 3, 2019, petitioner mailed a notice of surplus funds to all interested parties. [Lewin Decl. Ex. B, ...
Feb 14, 2020
...settlement agreement, if available. (Pet., Ex. D.) (G) Proof of service showing compliance with the notification requirement, notification that any interested party is entitled to support or oppose the motion and notification of the time and hearing of this matter and when responses are due (Proof of Service). (H) It has been over 5 years since Transferor entered this structured settlement. (See Ins. Code...
...specific provision of the Insurance Code. California’s law is one of numerous similar state laws that provide a process for court approval of these transactions in order to avoid a prohibitive federal tax that is imposed on such transactions where court-approval is not obtained.[1] These state laws, and their interpretation by the Court provide guidance that is instructive to this Court’s inquiry regar...
Feb 14, 2020
NATURE OF PROCEEDINGS: TENTATIVE RULING RE: MOTION TO TAX COSTS I. Introduction. The motion of Plaintiffs Rebecca Singh, Ralie Singh And Stella Singh individually and as Trustees of the Ralie G. Singh and Stella M. Singh 1998 Family Revocable Trust, and Wi...
...amount of $9,112.38. Plaintiffs' motion seeks to tax Chima's claimed costs based on the following grounds: (1) Rebecca Singh is not a plaintiff in the first cause of action, and Chima has not allocated his costs between the Plaintiffs' two causes of action; (2) the costs claimed for the deposition of witness George Wass in the amount of $3,696.88 is unreasonably high; (3) the costs claimed for the exhibit bin...
Feb 13, 2020
...plaintiff/moving party: John Bazan (Bazan, etc.) Counsel for defendant/opposing party: Jose Palacio (Palacio, etc.) PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO TAX COSTS (filed 12/30/19) TENTATIVE RULING Plaintiff’s motion to tax costs is GRANTED. Discussion On December 4, 2019, following a full bench trial, judgment was entered in favor of Defendant, against Plaintiff, on all causes of action. It was further ordered that “the Lis...
...provided by statute against Plaintiff. Defendant timely filed his memorandum of costs, seeking, inter alia, recovery of attorney’s fees in the amount of $48,019.60. Plaintiff now moves for an order taxing costs, arguing that Item 10 (Defendant’s request for attorneys’ fees) is improper because they are not allowable by contract, law, or statute as required under Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) § 1033.5. Additi...
Feb 13, 2020
The Motion to Tax Costs filed by moving party Plaintiff Ahmed Eldefrawy (here “MP”), as to the costs claimed in the Memorandum of Costs (“MOC”) filed on 11/18/19 and again on 1/30/20 by Stonekastle Community Management and Harbor Lofts Community Association (here “RPs”), is GRANTED IN PART. RPs have asserted a claim for fees as the pr...
...action. For Item 1, some of the costs were incurred for responding to another party’s pleading or for filing RP’s own cross-complaint. The Motion is granted as to those sums. For the MSJ filing fee, the Motion is granted in part, as the MSJ was directed to the Complaint and to various cross-claims. Only a portion should thus be recoverable here. (Whipple v. Cowdrey (1965) 235 Cal.App.2d 501, 504-505.) The C...
Feb 13, 2020
The parties are ordered to appear on Plaintiffs' Motion to Strike or Tax Costs, which is scheduled to be heard by the Court in Department 30 on February 19, 2020, at 9:30 a.m. The parties shall be prepared to address the timeliness of the filing of Defendants' Memorandum of Cost...
Feb 13, 2020
The parties are ordered to appear on Plaintiffs' Motion to Strike or Tax Costs, which is scheduled to be heard by the Court in Department 30 on February 19, 2020, at 9:30 a.m. The parties shall be prepared to address the timeliness of the filing of Defendants' Memorandum of Cost...
Feb 13, 2020
...No.: BC712204 Hearing Date: February 11, 2020 [TENTATIVE] order RE: Motion TO TAX COSTS BACKGROUND Defendant Sunland Palos Verdes Montessori, Inc. (“Defendant”) prevailed on its summary judgment motion against Plaintiff Mary Boktar-Grisand (“Plaintiff”). Defendant filed a memorandum of costs on December 13, 2019. Plaintiff moves to tax Defendant’s claimed costs. Defendant has withdrawn its request f...
...allowed or denied in the court’s discretion.” (Id., subd. (c)(4).) On a motion to tax, “[i]f the items appearing in a cost bill appear to be proper charges, the burden is on the party seeking to tax costs to show that they were not reasonable or necessary. On the other hand, if the items are properly objected to, they are put in issue and the burden of proof is on the party claiming them as costs. Whet...
Feb 11, 2020
Defendant’s (Virgil Mink) unopposed Motion to Tax/Strike Plaintiff’s Memorandum of Costs (Motion), filed on 10-16-19 under ROA No. 483, is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. “If items on their face appear to be proper charges, the verified memorandum of costs is prima facie evidence of t...
...seeking to tax costs to show that were not reasonable or necessary. On the other hand, if the items are properly objected to, they are put in issue and the burden of proof is on the party claiming them as costs. [Citations.] Whether a cost item was reasonably necessary to the litigation presents a question of fact for the trial court and its decision is reviewed for abuse of discretion. [Citation.] However, ...
Feb 11, 2020
...Fees and Costs Amendment to Petition for Final Distribution with Waiver of Final Accounting; and for Allowance of Compensation for Statutory Attorneys’ Fees and Costs PREGRANT ORDER The court on its own motion continues the hearing to May 27, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. in Department 22. This matter was previously continued from October 16, 2019 to allow the petitioners to fix issues with the petition. However, after...
...within eighteen months of the date letters are issued if an estate tax return is required. Here, letters were issued on February 6, 2018. As the estate is of an insufficient size to require an estate tax return, the petition for final distribution or a status report was due by February 6, 2018. No petition was filed until August 12, 2019 and no status reports were filed in 2018 or 2019. The petitioner...
Feb 11, 2020
Petition for Final Distribution with Waiver of Final Accounting; And for Allowance of Compensation for Extraordinary Attorney’s Fees and Costs PREGRANT ORDER The court on its own motion continues the hearing to May 27, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. in Department 22. Pending the continued hearing, the petitioner shall address the following: 1. Counsel is...
...within eighteen months of the date letters are issued if an estate tax return is required. Here, letters were issued on February 6, 2018. As the estate is of an insufficient size to require an estate tax return, the petition for final distribution or a status report was due by February 6, 2018. No petition was filed until December 16, 2019 and no status reports were filed in 2018 or 2019. The petition...
Feb 11, 2020
...referee’s services and costs of administration have been paid. LR 7.317 6. Verified declaration by petitioner to clarify whether a federal estate tax return Form 706 was filed. ¶18 states a federal estate tax return was filed; however, value of estate is less than amount warranting filing of such return. 7. Verified declaration by petitioner to clarify whether creditor’s claims were filed between 11-20-19...
...and 12-16-19. ¶¶ 16 and 23 state creditor’s claim period ends 12-16-19; however, petition was filed 11-20-19. 8. Proposed Order to state no final discharge will be granted until resolution of estate taxes, e.g. IRS closing letter. KAMI HARTWICK JOSHUA P. GOTTO VICKI FAYTHE THOMAS Need appearances to report status Notes: A. Opposition filed by Donald Haslam 4-8-19. B. Donald Haslam’s Petition to...
Feb 11, 2020
George
