Costs

Fees charged by a mediator for a mediation not ordered by the court may be recoverable as ordinary costs in the discretion of the trial court. Read More

A cost award entered after entry of voluntary dismissal without prejudice is appealable as a final judgment in its own right. Read More

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in awarding fees to a prevailing plaintiff in an individual FLSA retaliation claim, properly apportioning total fees among several plaintiffs, and attributing to this prevailing plaintiff only those fees reasonably incurred in prosecuting her individual claims. Read More

A trial court has no discretion to deny a prevailing party ordinary court costs on the ground that the losing party lacks the financial ability to pay those costs, and may deny or reduce expert witness fees awardable under Code of Civil Procedure section 998 only upon making specific statutory findings. Read More