Martin v. Howard University
Martin v. Howard University
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Initially, by my order of April 11, 2001, I refused to relieve plaintiff of her obligation to pay witness fees to the persons she sought to depose. Memorandum Order of April 11, 2001. She has asked me to reconsider that determination. I will do so now.
The controlling statute, 28 U.S.C.A. § 1821(b)(1994), indicates that “[a] witness shall be paid an attendance fee of $40 per day ...” The word “shall” means must.
If a party pays the fees, then, upon prevailing, she may seek to recover those fees as costs pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(d) and 28 U.S.C.A. § 1920 (1994). Thus, read together, one statute requires the tendering of fees as a condition of taking a witness’s deposition while the second permits, in the court’s discretion,
The logical conclusion from the language and interrelation of these provisions is that § 1821 specifies the amount of the fee that must be tendered to a witness, § 1920 provides that the fee may be taxed as a cost, and Rule 54(d) provides that the cost shall be taxed against the losing party unless the court otherwise directs.
Crawford Fitting Co. v. J.T. Gibbons, Inc., 482 U.S. 437, 441, 107 S.Ct. 2494, 96 L.Ed.2d 385 (1987).
Therefore, it is hereby,
ORDERED that plaintiffs Motion for Chief Judge Hogan’s Reconsideration of Magistrate’s May SO, 2001 Order [# 116] is DENIED.
SO ORDERED.
. Hicks v. Miranda, 422 U.S. 332, 352, 95 S.Ct. 2281, 45 L.Ed.2d 223 (1975)(Burger, C.J., concurring); Chloe Z Fishing, Inc. v. Odyssey Re (London) Ltd., 109 F.Supp.2d 1236, 1245 (S.D.Cal. 2000). See Norman J. Singer, Sutherland Statutes & Statutory Construction, § 57.2 (2001). Cf. Hewitt v. Helms, 459 U.S. 460, 471, 103 S.Ct. 864, 74 L.Ed.2d 675 (1983).
. See Quy v. Air America, Inc., 667 F.2d 1059 (D.C.Cir. 1981).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Dawn V. MARTIN v. HOWARD UNIVERSITY
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published