IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA

SOUTHERN DIVISION

REGINALD BELL, )

)

Plaintiff, )

)

vs. ) CIVIL ACTION NO. 15-00148-CG-C

)

WESTROCK SERVICES, INC., )

)

Defendant. )

ORDER

This matter is before the Court on the Motion to Tax Costs (Doc. 44) and Bill 

of Costs (Doc. 45) filed by WestRock Services, Inc. (“Defendant”). For the reasons set 

forth herein, Defendant’s motion to tax costs is due to be GRANTED.

The Court granted summary judgment to Defendant and dismissed Reginald 

Bell’s (“Plaintiff”) pro se claims with prejudice. (Docs. 42 & 43). Defendant filed the 

current motion seeking remuneration for deposition and photocopying costs. (Doc. 

44, pp. 2-3). Defendant requests $895.10 for transcripts of Plaintiff’s deposition and 

the court reporter fee as well as $436.25 for “preparing copies of documents to 

produce during the course of discovery, as exhibits to Plaintiff’s deposition and to 

submit as exhibits in support of Defendant’s motion for summary judgment in 

defending this case,” for a total of $1,331.35. Id. at 2-4. Defendant’s counsel 

submitted an affidavit supporting these costs. (Doc. 44-1). Plaintiff did not respond.

Rule 54(d)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure states, “Unless a federal 

statute, these rules, or a court order provides otherwise, costs—other than 

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attorney’s fees—should be allowed to the prevailing party.” Outside of explicit 

statutory authorization, the following is a comprehensive list of allowable costs:

A judge or clerk of any court of the United States may tax as costs the 

following:

(1) Fees of the clerk and marshal;

(2) Fees for printed or electronically recorded transcripts necessarily 

obtained for use in the case;

(3) Fees and disbursements for printing and witnesses;

(4) Fees for exemplification and the costs of making copies of any 

materials where the copies are necessarily obtained for use in the 

case;

(5) Docket fees under section 1923 of this title;

(6) Compensation of court appointed experts, compensation of 

interpreters, and salaries, fees, expenses, and costs of special 

interpretation services under section 1828 of this title.

A bill of costs shall be filed in the case and, upon allowance, included in

the judgment or decree.

28 U.S.C. § 1920 (2012). Plaintiff has the burden of showing that the costs claimed 

by Defendant are not taxable. See Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. Nall’s Newton Tire, 

Civ. Action No. 14-110-CG-M, 2015 WL 8207478, at *5 (S.D. Ala. Dec. 7, 2015).

Deposition costs are included in § 1920(2). See EEOC v. W&O, Inc., 213 F.3d 

600, 620 (11th Cir. 2000). Costs associated with deposition transcripts are taxable 

only if the deposition was necessary for use in the case. Id. at 620-21. Deposition 

costs are not taxable if “‘merely incurred for convenience, to aid in thorough 

preparation, or for purposes of investigation only.’” Id. at 620 (quoting Goodwall 

Constr. Co. v. Beers Constr. Co., 824 F. Supp. 1044, 1066 (N.D. Ga. 1992)). 

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Defendant’s counsel certifies that the deposition of Plaintiff was “necessary to 

Defendant’s defense” and that the testimony “was used by the Defendant in support 

of its position on summary judgment.” (Doc. 44-1, p. 3). Indeed, Defendant cited to 

the deposition throughout its motion for summary judgment. (Doc. 33, pp. 3-16, 20,

22-24, 26, 29-30). The Court finds that the deposition was necessary for use by 

Defendant, and thus the costs of the deposition are taxable against Plaintiff.

Photocopying costs are included in § 1920(4). In determining whether to 

award copying costs, “the court should consider whether the prevailing party could 

have reasonably believed that it was necessary to copy the papers at issue.” W&O, 

Inc., 213 F.3d at 623. The Eleventh Circuit has held that costs associated with 

producing documents in discovery are taxable. Id. Defendant’s counsel declares that 

the copying costs were incurred “in preparing and obtaining discovery and in 

preparing and serving pleadings of Plaintiff in this case,” including copies of 

documents made to respond to Plaintiff’s interrogatories and requests for 

production of documents. (Doc. 44-1, p. 3). The Court finds that the photocopies

were necessary for use by Defendant, and therefore the copying costs are

recoverable.

The costs claimed by Defendant are taxable against Plaintiff under 28 U.S.C. 

§ 1920. Accordingly, Defendant’s motion to tax costs in the amount of $1,331.35 is

hereby GRANTED.

DONE and ORDERED this 22nd day of August, 2016.

/s/ Callie V. S. Granade 

SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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