Opinion ID: 738304
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Florida's cross appeal on its expert fees.

Text: 58 Florida challenges the magistrate judge's disallowance of one fourth of the $380,379.58 Florida paid to a consultant. The magistrate judge noted that Dunne had agreed that the consultant should be hired and approved the bill, but she disallowed 25% of the total because the district court had precluded discovery on the damages issue to which the consultant spoke. While a party might well have an interest in consulting about the facts despite some sort of preclusion of direct use, we do not conclude that the magistrate judge abused her discretion in ruling otherwise in the facts of this case. 59 In our determinations that the magistrate judge did not abuse her discretion on the issues of Florida's cross appeal, we do not intimate that her discretion had to be exercised as it was. If on consideration of the interest on the $863,944.15, the magistrate determines that a second look at these matters is appropriate in order to keep awards within the benchmark 25%, on the record before us the district court would be free to exercise its discretion the other way. 60