22CV46354
DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO TAX COSTS
Plaintiffs submitted a Memorandum of Costs after trial. Defendant has brought this
motion to tax costs. Plaintiffs made a Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) Section 998 Offer
to Compromise for $25,000 on March 17, 2023, but It was not accepted. After trial, the
court ordered Judgment in favor of plaintiffs for $30,074.00, i.e., an amount greater than
plaintiffs’ pre-trial offer. The submitted Memorandum of Costs included costs associated
with John R. Gibson (expert) amounting to $2,525.63 and post-CCP § 998 offer interest
of $2,527.40.
The California Supreme Court has established that a plaintiff can recover post-offer
costs for an expert witness if three conditions are met: (1) the plaintiff makes an offer to
compromise that meets the statutory time and content requirements; (2) the defendant
does not accept the offer; and (3) the defendant does not obtain a result in the action
that is more favorable than the offer (Martinez v. Bro