Kemp v. Kickert School Bus Lines, Inc.

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedMarch 30, 2023
Docket1:19-cv-07637
StatusUnknown

This text of Kemp v. Kickert School Bus Lines, Inc. (Kemp v. Kickert School Bus Lines, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kemp v. Kickert School Bus Lines, Inc., (N.D. Ill. 2023).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION

KASIDEY KEMP, ) ) Plaintiff, ) No. 1:19-CV-07637 ) v. ) ) Judge Edmond E. Chang KICKERT SCHOOL BUS LINES, INC., ) ) Defendant. )

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Kasidey Kemp filed a pro se lawsuit against her former employer, Kickert School Bus Lines, Inc., alleging a hostile work environment and retaliation in viola- tion of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., and inten- tional infliction of emotional distress.1 See R. 21, Am. Compl. ¶¶ 15, 40.2 After discov- ery, both parties moved for summary judgment. R. 49, Pl.’s Mot. Summ. J. at 1–2; R. 57, Def.’s Mot. Summ. J., and Kickert won a dismissal of the federal claim and relinquishment of the emotional-distress claim. R. 70, Summ. J. Op. at 17. On October 28, 2021 (the specific date is important), or 28 days after the Court entered summary judgment, Kemp filed a Notice of Appeal. R. 73. Kickert did not submit a Bill of Costs at that time. The appeal proceeded and on June 1, 2022, the Seventh Circuit affirmed per curiam the entry of summary judgment. 7th Cir. No. 21-

1The Court had subject matter jurisdiction over the Title VII claim under 28 U.S.C.§ 1331, and supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claim under 28 U.S.C. § 1367. 2Citations to the record are “R.” followed by the docket entry number and, if needed, a page or paragraph number. 3012, Dkt. 23. Fourteen days after the Seventh Circuit’s decision was issued, Kickert submitted a Bills of Costs on June 15, 2022, in both the Seventh Circuit and this Court. 7th Cir. No. 21-3012, Dkt. 25; R. 79, Def.’s Bill of Costs. In this Court, Kickert

moves under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 54(d) for costs as permitted by Title VII and 28 U.S.C. § 1920. See Def.’s Bill of Costs; see also 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(k). Kemp objects to the Bill of Costs as untimely, among other reasons. R. 86, Pl.’s Obj. Bill of Costs. For the reasons explained in this Opinion, Kickert’s motion for costs is granted in part and denied in part.

I. Background The underlying facts were detailed in the summary judgment opinion, see Summ. J. Op., so only a high-level overview is set forth as relevant to the bill of costs. Kemp worked for Kickert from 2018 to 2020 as a school bus monitor. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 3, 5; R. 58, DSOF ¶ 67.3 Starting in late October 2018, Kemp began reporting to

Kickert Manager Debbie Cipkar and Human Resources Director Steve Miller of har- assing incidents, the first being an encounter where bus driver Oscar Foster’s non- consensually touched Kemp’s mid and lower back. R. 60-1, PSOF ¶ 1; DSOF ¶ 20; R. 58-1, Def.’s Exh. 1, Steve Miller Decl. ¶ 4. Kickert’s response to Kemp’s complaints included issuing warnings, suspensions, re-training, and reiterating the company’s policy. DSOF ¶ 25; R. 61 at 3, Pl’s. Exh. 1, Steve Miller Dep. at 66:10–15.

3Citations to the parties’ Local Rule 56.1 Statements of Fact are identified as follows: “DSOF” for Kickert’s (Defendant’s) Statement of Undisputed Facts (R. 58); “PSOF” for Kemp’s (Plaintiff’s) Statement of Facts (R. 60-1 at 14); Pl. Resp. DSOF for Kemp’s Response to the DSOF (R. 60-1 at 1); and Def. Reply Pl. Resp. DSOF ¶ 31 (R. 65). 2 The following months involved Kemp’s filing further complaints to Kickert for incidents and Kickert’s investigation of the complaints. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 44–49; DSOF ¶¶ 47, 49–50; Pl. Resp DSOF ¶ 31. Kickert provided similar responses as its first ac-

tion, all of which were to Kemp’s dissatisfaction. DSOF ¶¶ 40–41, 48, 51; Miller Decl. ¶ 16; Miller Dep. at 82:5–20. Ultimately, Kemp then filed suit, alleging a hostile work environment on the basis of gender (Claim One) and retaliation (Claim Two) in vio- lation of Title VII as well as a state law claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress (Claim Three). Am. Compl. ¶¶ 15, 40. Following two years of litigation and cross-motions for summary judgment, this Court granted Kickert’s summary judgment motion on Claims One and Two and

relinquished jurisdiction over the state law claim, Claim Three. Summ. J. Op. at 17. This Court also denied Kemp’s cross-motion for summary judgment. Id. This judg- ment was silent as to costs. Id. Kemp then appealed. The Seventh Circuit affirmed on June 1, 2022, and awarded costs to Kickert. 7th Cir. No. 21-3012, Dkts. 23, 24. Two weeks later, on June 15, 2022, Kickert filed a Bill of Costs in the Seventh Circuit in the amount of $112.50

to cover costs for reproduction of briefs; the Court of Appeals granted the bill. 7th Cir. No. 21-3012, Dkt. 26 at 7. Kickert also filed its Bill of Costs in this Court on the same day, invoking Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(d), 28 U.S.C. § 1920, and 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(k). Def.’s Bill of Costs at 1. In this Court, Kickert seeks $220 in fees for service of summons and subpoena; $4,538.64 for fees for printed or electronically

3 recorded transcripts necessarily obtained for use in the case; and $178.40 for fees and disbursements for printing. Id. Kemp objects to these costs, arguing first that Kickert’s filing is untimely. Pl.’s

Obj. Bill of Costs at 1–2. Kemp contends that Kickert’s failure to file a Bill of Costs within 30 days of this Court’s entry of judgment—which would have been by October 30, 2021—waives Kickert’s ability to recover “costs other than those of the clerk, tax- able pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1920” for the district court proceeding. Id. at 2 (quoting L.R. 54.1). When Kickert did file a Bill of Costs after the Seventh Circuit’s affirmance, eight months had passed since entry of judgment in the District Court. Id. So Kemp requests this Court deny Kickert’s Bill of Costs in its entirety. Id.

In the alternative, Kemp argues that Kickert cannot recover several itemized costs in its Bill of Costs for being either unnecessary or unreasonable. Pl.’s Obj. Bill of Costs at 2–4. Because Kickert attempted to deliver subpoenas for the deposition of Taylor Kemp and Carla Yuknis through a rush delivery three days before the close of discovery, Kemp argues that this timing is not reasonable because it would not have been practicable to complete the depositions. Id. at 2. Kemp also characterizes the

subpoena expense for her medical records as “unnecessary” for three primary reasons: (1) Kemp already had provided Kickert with the medical records necessary for the case; (2) Kemp already had given Kickert the medical records in her possession; and (3) Kickert did not use Kemp’s medical records in responding to the emotional distress claim. Id. at 4.

4 For the deposition transcripts as to Kemp’s own deposition, Kemp argues that Kickert’s use of her depositions are largely duplicative of what Kemp mentioned in “letters and interviews by local management and Kickert’s Human Resource depart-

ment,” arguing that the cost is therefore unnecessary. Pl.’s Obj. Bill of Costs at 4.

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