Opposing a motion for order taxing costs in California

Opposing a motion for an order taxing costs in California

Opposing a motion for an order taxing costs in California is the topic of this blog post.  Any parties that wish to oppose a motion for an order taxing costs should file and serve their opposition to the motion at least nine (9) court days before the hearing pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 1005(b) and should serve their opposition by overnight delivery, personal service or other means authorized by Code of Civil Procedure section 1005(c).

Any party served with a motion for an order taxing costs or striking costs should carefully review the motion and supporting documents to determine the grounds for the opposition.

The first possible ground for opposition would be that the motion was untimely as California Rule of Court 3.1700(b)(1) states in pertinent part that,

“Any notice of motion to strike or to tax costs must be served and filed 15 days after service of the cost memorandum. If the cost memorandum was served by mail, the period is extended as provided in Code of Civil Procedure section 1013.”

Thus any motion for an order striking or taxing costs in California must be served no later than 15 days after service of the memorandum of costs although that deadline is extended to 20 days if the memorandum of costs was served by mail.

Another possible ground for opposition would be that the motion does not comply with the provisions of California Rule of Court 3.1700(b)(2) which states that,

“Unless objection is made to the entire cost memorandum, the motion to strike or tax costs must refer to each item objected to by the same number and appear in the same order as the corresponding cost item claimed on the memorandum of costs and must state why the item is objectionable.”

Therefore unless the party seeking to strike or tax costs is objecting to the entire memorandum of costs their objections must be made by the same number and appear in the same order as the cost items appear on the memorandum of costs. They must also state why that particular item is objectionable. This is a common ground for opposition as many motions to strike or tax costs do not state sufficient facts to demonstrate that the cost item that is objected to was not properly claimed.

Several decisions of the California Courts of Appeal have stated that a properly verified memorandum of costs is prima facie evidence that the items listed are properly claimed and the party objecting to those costs must make a sufficient showing that the items listed were neither reasonable nor necessary in that particular case and that mere allegations or contentions without more is not a sufficient showing.

A California Court of Appeal has stated that copies of bills, invoices or similar documents substantiating the claimed costs are not required to be attached to the memorandum of costs.

At least two California Court of Appeals have stated that the issue of whether any particular item on a cost memorandum was reasonable or necessary is a question of fact.

Attorneys or parties in California that would like to view a portion of a 14 page sample opposition to motion to tax or strike costs containing brief instructions, a memorandum of points and authorities with citations to case law and statutory authority, sample declaration and proof of service sold by the author can see below. 

   Sample Opposition to Motion to Tax Costs in California by Stan Burman

The author of this blog post, Stan Burman, is an entrepreneur and freelance paralegal that has worked in California and Federal litigation since 1995 and has created over 300 sample legal documents for California and Federal litigation.

If you are in need of assistance with any California or Federal litigation matters, Mr. Burman is available on a freelance basis. Mr. Burman may be contacted by e-mail at DivParalgl@yahoo.com for more information. He accepts payments through PayPal which means that you can pay using most credit or debit cards.

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DISCLAIMER:

Please note that the author of this blog post, Stan Burman is NOT an attorney and as such is unable to provide any specific legal advice. The author is NOT engaged in providing any legal, financial, or other professional services, and any information contained in this blog post is NOT intended to constitute legal advice.

The materials and information contained in this blog post have been prepared by Stan Burman for informational purposes only and are not legal advice. Transmission of the information contained in this blog post is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, any business relationship between the author and any readers. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.