Windy Cove, Inc. v. Circle K Stores, Inc.

District Court, S.D. California·Decided February 1, 2024·No. 3:21-cv-01416·Unknown

Opinion

WINDY COVE, INC. et al., Case No. 21-cv-1416-MMA-DEB

Plaintiffs, ORDER GRANTING IN PART v. MOTION FOR ATTORNEY’S FEES; AND

Defendant. [Doc. No. 193]

GRANTING MOTION TO RE-TAX

[Doc. No. 206] Pending before the Court is Defendant’s motion for attorneys’ fees and motion to re-tax costs. See Doc. Nos. 193, 206. Plaintiffs1 oppose both motions. See Doc. Nos. 207, 211. The Court found these matters suitable for determination on the papers 1 For the sake of convenience, the Court refers to Windy Cove, Inc., Staffing and Management Group, Inc. d/b/a Kazmo, LLC, HB Fuel, Inc., Mohammad Bahour, and Hamid Kahour collectively as and without oral argument pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 78(b) and Civil Local Rule 7.1.d.1. For the reasons set forth below, the Court GRANTS Defendant’s motion to retax costs and GRANTS IN PART Defendant’s motion for attorney’s fees. On August 6, 2021, Plaintiffs initiated this action against Defendant, which generally speaking, stems from the parties’ fuel-supplying relationship. See Doc. No. 1. On January 5, 2022, Plaintiffs filed their First Amended Complaint asserting claims for (1) breach of contract – breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing; (2) declaratory relief; and (3) unfair business practices in violation of California Business and Professions Code § 17200, et seq. Doc. No. 27 (“FAC”). On September 7, 2023, the Court granted Defendant’s motion for summary judgment in its entirety and denied Plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment. Doc. No. 190. Because this case involves confidential and proprietary information, the Court’s Summary Judgment Order was filed under seal. On September 21, 2023, Defendant filed its motion for attorney’s fees. Doc. No.193. That same day, Defendant submitted to the Clerk of Court a Bill of Costs. Doc. No. 194. On September 26, 2023, the Court issued a redacted version of its Summary Judgment Order, see Doc. No. 198, and a Clerk’s Judgment was issued that same day, see Doc. No. 199. On October 4, 2023, Plaintiffs objected to the Bill of Costs. Doc. No. 200. The Clerk of Court taxed Defendant’s costs at $0.00 because the Bill of Costs was filed before the entry of judgment. Doc. No. 203. Thereafter, Defendant filed a motion to re-tax costs pursuant to Civil Local Rule 54.1(h). Doc. No. 206. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(d)(1) provides that “[u]nless a federal statute, these rules, or a court order provides otherwise, costs—other than attorney’s fees— should be allowed to the prevailing party.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(d)(1). This rule “creates a presumption in favor of awarding costs to a prevailing party, but vests in the district court discretion to refuse to award costs.” Ass’n of Mexican-American Educ. v. State of Cal., 231 F.3d 572, 591 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc). To deny costs to the prevailing party, the district court must specify its reasoning. Id. This is “in essence, a requirement that the court explain why a case is not ‘ordinary’ and why, in the circumstances, it would be inappropriate or inequitable to award costs.” Id. at 593. The Ninth Circuit has explained that some “[a]ppropriate reasons for denying costs include: (1) the substantial public importance of the case, (2) the closeness and difficulty of the issues in the case, (3) the chilling effect on future similar actions, (4) the plaintiff’s limited financial resources, and (5) the economic disparity between the parties.” Escriba v. Foster Poultry Farms, Inc., 743 F.3d 1236, 1247–48 (9th Cir. 2014). All of these circumstances need not be present for a district court to refuse to award costs. Draper v. Rosario, 836 F.3d 1072, 1087 (9th Cir. 2016). Here, Defendant is the prevailing party and is therefore presumptively entitled to recover costs. Nevertheless, the Bill of Costs was denied in its entirety because, as noted above, Defendant filed its request after being awarded summary judgment but before entry of the Clerk’s Judgment. See Doc. No. 203. “Under the well-established Rule 54(d)(1) case law, the district court is charged with making a de novo review of the clerk’s determination of the costs issue.” Asis Internet Servs. v. Optin Glob., Inc., No. C- 05-5124 JCS, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103932, at *8 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 17, 2008) (quoting In re Paoli R.R. Yard PCB Litigation, 221 F.3d 449, 461 (3d Cir. 2000) (itself citing10 Moore’s Federal Practice, § 54.100[3], at 54-145)). A de novo review of the Clerk’s Office determination that Defendant was not entitled to costs reveals that Defendant is, in fact, entitled to recover costs. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(a) clearly states that “judgment” includes “a decree and any order from which an appeal lies.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(a). The Court’s September 7, 2023 Summary Judgment Order is a final, appealable order as defined by Rule 54. In fact, at the time the Clerk’s Office reviewed the Bill of Costs, an appeal had already been taken from the Order. See Doc. No. 201. The Civil Local Rules “must be construed so as to be consistent with [the Federal Rules] and to promote the just, efficient and economical determination of every action and proceeding.” CivLR 1.1.c. To the extent the Clerk’s Office applied Civil Local Rule 54.1.a in this instance to require Defendant to wait until after the entry of judgment to file a Bill of Costs, see CivLR 54.1.a, such an application was inconsistent with the Federal Rules. And it was neither efficient nor economical to deny a Bill of Costs in this unusual circumstance where the entry of judgment was delayed by nearly three weeks. Before addressing Plaintiffs’ objections, the Court notes that it finds the unchallenged costs taxable under the applicable law. 28 U.S.C. § 1920(1) (permitting fees of the clerk as taxable); id. § 1920(3) (permitting fees for witnesses as taxable); see also 28 U.S.C.S. § 1821(b) (“A witness shall be paid an attendance fee of $40 per day for each day’s attendance.”). Turning to the briefing on Defendant’s motion, Plaintiffs do not argue that Defendant is not entitled to recover costs. Rather, Plaintiffs assert that Defendant should not be permitted to recover the costs associated with obtaining three deposition transcripts. See Doc. No. 211. According to Plaintiffs, because Defendant did not utilize these transcripts at summary judgment, they are not recoverable. Id. at 3. The three challenged deposition costs are: (1) Defendant’s expert witness, Jacqueline Benyamini, $802.50; (2) Defendant’s employee, Stephen Jennison, $1,192.70; and (3) Defendant’s employee Marcello B. Ciminelli, $913.40. As such, Plaintiffs object to the recovery of $2,908.60. Title 28 of the United States Code, section 1920 provides that the Court may tax as costs, among other things, “[f]ees for printed or electronically recorded transcripts necessarily obtained for use in the case.” 28 U.S.C. § 1920(2). Further, pursuant to the Civil Local Rules, The cost of an original and one copy of any deposition (including videotaped depositions)

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Windy Cove, Inc. v. Circle K Stores, Inc., (S.D. Cal. 2024).

Windy Cove, Inc. v. Circle K Stores, Inc. (Windy Cove, Inc. v. Circle K Stores, Inc.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Hensley v. Eckerhart
461 U.S. 424 (Supreme Court, 1983)
Hilton v. Braunskill
481 U.S. 770 (Supreme Court, 1987)
Ingram v. Oroudjian
647 F.3d 925 (Ninth Circuit, 2011)
In Re Ricoh Co., Ltd. Patent Litigation
661 F.3d 1361 (Federal Circuit, 2011)
United States v. Kristen Gilbert
229 F.3d 15 (First Circuit, 2000)
Alameda County Social Services Agency v. T.B.
215 Cal. App. 4th 1 (California Court of Appeal, 2013)
Heritage Pacific Financial v. Monroy CA1/2
215 Cal. App. 4th 972 (California Court of Appeal, 2013)
Eden Township Healthcare District v. Eden Medical Center
220 Cal. App. 4th 418 (California Court of Appeal, 2013)
PLCM Group, Inc. v. Drexler
997 P.2d 511 (California Supreme Court, 2000)
Maria Escriba v. Foster Poultry Farms, Inc.
743 F.3d 1236 (Ninth Circuit, 2014)
John Draper v. D. Rosario
836 F.3d 1072 (Ninth Circuit, 2016)
Helfand v. Gerson
105 F.3d 530 (Ninth Circuit, 1997)
Perry v. Sharpe
8 F. 15 (U.S. Circuit Court, 1881)
Gates v. Deukmejian
987 F.2d 1392 (Ninth Circuit, 1992)
Hancock v. Albee
11 F.R.D. 139 (D. Connecticut, 1951)