Opinion ID: 2631240
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: expert witness deposition fee

Text: ¶ 14 Plaintiff argues that the trial court exceeded the permitted range of discretion by awarding the hospital as a cost the $1,000 fee the hospital was required to pay plaintiff's expert in order to take his deposition. We agree. ¶ 15 In Frampton v. Wilson, 605 P.2d 771, 774 (Utah 1980), we held that witness fees, in excess of the statutory allowance, were not legitimate and taxable costs and could not be recovered. In Frampton, the plaintiffs paid five expert witnesses amounts over what was allowed by the Utah Code. [4] See id. at 772-73. The trial court in Frampton included the additional witness fees in its calculation of plaintiff's costs because it found that the additional fees were expenses necessary to present plaintiffs' case. Id. On appeal, we stated that there is a distinction between legitimate and taxable `costs' and other `expenses,'of litigation, which may be ever so necessary, but are not properly taxable as costs. Id. at 774 (footnote omitted). We explained that costs are generally fees that are required to be paid to the court and to witnesses. See id. We reversed the trial court's award of the witness fees in excess of the statutory allowance because they were not fees required by statute to be paid to the witness, and thus were not legitimate and taxable costs. See id. ¶ 16 Applying our holding in Frampton to this case, we reverse the award of the $1,000 fee the hospital was required by plaintiff's expert to pay to take his deposition. The hospital argues that the trial court's award of this amount should not be reversed because it was necessary for trial; i.e., the hospital had to pay the fee or it could not have taken the expert's deposition. However, as we stated in Frampton, even if necessary, fees paid over the amount allowed by statute are not properly taxable as costs, and are therefore not recoverable. ¶ 17 Under rule 30 of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, any party may take the testimony of any person by deposition without leave of court, unless particular circumstances exist, none of which are present here. See Utah R.Civ.P. 30(a). If a person is commanded to appear at a deposition to give testimony by a subpoena, then that person is entitled to the fees for one day's attendance and the mileage allowed by law, unless the subpoena is issued on behalf of the United States, or this state, or any officer or agency of either. Utah R.Civ.P. 45(b)(1)(A). The one day fee to which a witness is entitled is $18.50, as provided by Utah Code Ann. § 21-5-4. ¶ 18 Although rule 26 provides that [t]he court shall require that the party seeking discovery pay the expert a reasonable fee for time spent in responding to discovery, Utah R.Civ.P. 26(b)(4)(C)(i), this fee cannot be fully recovered by a prevailing party. The maximum amount the prevailing party may recover as costs [5] is the $18.50 allowed by section 21-5-4, despite any additional amount that the prevailing party may have had to pay an expert witness for his/her deposition. As in Frampton, regardless of what a prevailing party is required to pay witnesses for their testimony, only the amounts allowed by statute are taxable as costs. Any amount paid over the statutory allowance is an expense of litigation, rather than a taxable cost, and not recoverable. In this case, because the $1,000 fee the hospital paid plaintiff's expert is an amount in excess of what is provided for by statute, the trial court exceeded the permitted range of discretion in including it as part of defendant's costs. ¶ 19 The maximum amount the trial court could have awarded the hospital in this case was the sum of the fees for one day's attendance, $18.50, and the proper mileage allowance under section 21-5-4. However, this award is dependent on the trial court's determination, with supporting findings, that the expert witness's deposition was essential to the hospital's case. Therefore, the trial court's award of $1,000 is reversed and this issue is remanded for determination of the correct amount, if any.