Plaintiff Did Not Shift Burden Of Correctness Accorded To Verified Costs Memorandum.
Plaintiff, in a lobby slip and fall, failed to beat a CCP § 998 offer from defendant owner/manager of the building lobby. The lower court awarded certain routine costs to the defense, prompting an appeal in Alexander v. Wealth Properties, Case No. A139093 (1st Dist., Div. 3 Apr. 25, 2016) (unpublished).
The appeal was not successful on this point (or the merits for that matter). A verified costs memorandum is accorded an aura of correctness, with the opposing party needing to present competent opposition of a nature which would shift the burden back to the costs claimant. Here, costs in deposing plaintiff’s experts were expressly recoverable under section 998 as were court reporter costs under the routine costs shifting-statute. As far as costs for rush orders on service for certain items, plaintiff only presented assertions that these costs were not necessary or reasonable—far wide of the mark to get a court to deviate off presumption of correctness accorded to items contained in a verified costs memorandum.