Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Taxation of Costs under § 1920 — Video Deposition Costs Unrecoverable Where Summary Judgment Granted and Videos Unnecessary for That

In re Text Messaging Antitrust Litig., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121804 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 2, 2014):

The law permits a party to recover costs for both a paper transcript and video recording of a deposition; the standard is whether it was reasonably necessary for counsel to obtain both. See Little v. Mitsubishi Motors N. Am., Inc., 514 F.3d 699, 702 (7th Cir. 2008). Plaintiffs argue that the witnesses whose depositions were video recorded were defendants' personnel and that there was no reason to believe they would be unavailable at trial, thus it was not reasonably necessary for defendants to pay for a copy of the video recording as well as the paper transcript. In their reply, defendants do not dispute the factual basis for this argument and thus have conceded it. Their only argument is that plaintiffs' counsel, who took the depositions, had them video-recorded. This is insufficient, however, to make it reasonably necessary for defendants to obtain a video copy. They do not contend that they needed the video versions for their motions for summary judgment, [*25]  and the case never got close enough to trial to make it reasonable to obtain the video recordings for purposes of witness preparation. The Court agrees with plaintiffs that the expenses for the video recordings are not recoverable costs.

Share this article:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email

Recent Posts

RICO and Injunctions: (1) State Court Actions Designed to Perpetuate and Monetize a RICO Violation Are Enjoinable under RICO, Even Though They Are Not Themselves Alleged to Be Predicate Acts [Note: Noerr Pennington Applies in RICO Actions] — (2) Although Civil RICO’s Text and Legislative History Fail to Reveal Any Intent to Override the Provisions of the Federal Arbitration Act, Arbitrations Are Enjoinable Under the “Effective Vindication” Doctrine Where They Operate As a Prospective Waiver of a Party’s Right to Pursue Statutory RICO Remedies — (3) Arbitration Findings May Be Given Collateral Estoppel Effect in a Civil RICO Action — (4) Injunction of Non-Corrupt State Court Litigations That Furthers a RICO Violation Are Enjoinable Under the Anti-Injunction Act’s “Expressly Authorized” Exception — (5) “The Irreparable Harm Requirement Is The Single Most Important Prerequisite For The Issuance Of A Preliminary Injunction” (Good Quote) — (6) When Injunction Is Based on “Serious Questions on the Merits” Rather Than “Likelihood of Success,” Court May Rely on Unverified Pleadings and Attached Exhibits to Assess the Merits, Unless the Opponent Has Raised Substantial Questions (Here, the Opponent Failed to Request an Evidentiary Hearing) — (7) Whether Amended Pleading Moots An Appeal Turns on Whether It Materially Changes the Substantive Basis for the Appeal — (8) Meaning of “In That” (“Used To Introduce A Statement That Explains Or Gives More Specific Information” About A Prior Statement)

Archives