On January 20, 2015, by Opinion and Order of Federal Court denied Defendants their bills of costs in a medical malpractice case, Green v. Winchester Medical Center, No. 5:13CV00064 in United State District Court for the Western District of Virginia, Harrisonburg Division. Fed. R. Civ. P. Rule 54(d)(1) presumes costs “should be allowed to the prevailing party,” unless the Court articulates “some good reason for [not] doing so”. Id. at 2.
The Court in Green found that “plaintiff is plainly of modest means,” whose financial condition “militates against an award of costs”. Id. at 6-7. Also, the Court found that “the case was a close and difficult one,” which “could have easily gone either way”. Id. at 7-8.
Therefore, the Green Court found that “it would be unjust to award costs to the prevailing defendants”. Id. at 8. This was so despite it finding defendants costs were “not excessive on their face”. Id. at 8 n.3.
