Opinion ID: 4531407
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Colorado Law on Costs

Text: Colorado law is much more generous in awarding costs, although the letter of the law does not appear to be that different from federal law. Colorado Revised Statutes §§ 13-16-104 and –105 allow recovery of costs by plaintiffs and defendants respectively. 2 2 Section 13-16-104, entitled “When plaintiff recovers costs,” states in full: If any person sues in any court of this state in any action, real, personal, or mixed, or upon any statute for any offense or wrong immediately personal to the plaintiff and recovers any debt or damages in such action, then the plaintiff or demandant shall have judgment to recover against the defendant 6 And Colorado Revised Statute § 13-16-122 provides a limited list of appropriate costs that a state court “may include.” See also Colo. R. Civ. P. 54(d) (“Except when express provision therefor is made either in a statute of this state or in these rules, reasonable costs shall be allowed as of course to the prevailing party considering any relevant factors which may include the needs and complexity of the case and the amount in controversy.”). But unlike the United States Supreme Court, the Colorado Supreme Court has treated the list of costs in its statute, § 13-16-122, as merely “illustrative rather than exclusive.” Cherry Creek Sch. Dist. No. 5 v. Voelker, 859 P.2d 805, 813 (Colo. 1993). In Colorado, “absent a specific prohibition, the trial court has discretion over the awarding of costs.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted); accord Roget v. Grand Pontiac, Inc., 5 P.3d 341, 348 (Colo. App. 1999) (“Absent a specific prohibition in the statute, a trial court has the discretion to award any reasonable costs requested.”). The his costs to be taxed; and the same shall be recovered, together with the debt or damages, by execution, except in the cases mentioned in this article. Section 13-16-105, entitled “When defendant recovers costs,” states in full: If any person sues in any court of record in this state in any action wherein the plaintiff or demandant might have costs in case judgment is given for him and he is nonprossed, suffers a discontinuance, is nonsuited after appearance of the defendant, or a verdict is passed against him, then the defendant shall have judgment to recover his costs against the plaintiff, except against executors or administrators prosecuting in the right of their testator or intestate, or demandant, to be taxed; and the same shall be recovered of the plaintiff or demandant, by like process as the plaintiff or demandant might have had against the defendant, in case judgment has been given for the plaintiff or demandant. 7 district court relied on Colorado precedent to award costs for electronic legal research and attorney travel and lodging—none of which is listed in § 13-16-122. See Cherry Creek, 859 P.2d at 813–14 (expenses of taking discovery depositions); Valentine v. Mountain States Mut. Cas. Co., 252 P.3d 1182, 1193–94 (Colo. App. 2011) (travel for depositions and meetings with experts and clients); Roget, 5 P.3d at 348–49 (computerized legal research).