Costs: Where Partial Success Was Obtained On Appeal, Both Parties Ordered To Split Costs On Appeal

As For Trial Level Costs, Matter Had To Be Remanded To See If A Party Prevailed As Far As A Net Monetary Recovery.

Davis v. Fresno Unified School Dist., Case No. F089619 (5^th Dist. Oct. 22, 2026) (published), on the merits, involved interpretation of California’s competitive bidding statute and conflict of interest laws.  For our posting purposes, the case demonstrates how appellate courts have discretion to allocate costs on appeal between the parties under CRC, rules 8.278(a)(3), (5).  That is what occurred, with each side bearing 50% of the costs.  With respect to the trial level costs, the matter was remanded to determine if there was a prevailing party under “net monetary recovery” analysis.