Might Be “Outrageous,” But Total Denial Not Right.
In Main Street-Santa Ana, LLC v. Kappauf, Case No. G049092 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Mar. 25, 2015) (unpublished), plaintiff rejected a valid CCP § 998 so as to be exposed to recovery of expert witness fees and routine costs. The trial judge denied $227,722.09 in requested expert witness fees, for five experts, on the basis the amount sought was “outrageous.” He also disallowed $38,565.72 in costs for models, blowups, and exhibit photocopies and disallowed $6,701.90 in photocopying/attorney service expenses.
The appellate court reversed and affirmed portions of these rulings. It felt that the outright denial of expert witness fees, rather than a reduction, was too arbitrary in nature. However, as to the other expenses, the defense claiming costs simply attached a “bunch of invoices” without identifying how the invoiced matters were helpful to the trier of fact and also provided bad math—they added up to around $12,000 less than the request. Without showing why the items were necessary and proper meant the requesting party failed to meet its burden under CCP § 1033.5.
Justice Ikola penned this one on behalf of a 3-0 panel.