Opinion ID: 788144
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the district court properly granted the defendants' counterclaim for costs and expenses

Text: 34 The terms of the retainer agreement signed by Rubens are unambiguous as to Rubens's responsibility for costs and expenses. 7 Rubens does not allege that she was induced to sign the agreement through fraud, that she did not understand the terms of the agreement, or that the amount of costs and expenses was unreasonable. In opposition to the defendants' motion for summary judgment, Rubens submitted an unsupported affidavit in which she claimed that she did not receive certain bills (in contradiction to her prior deposition testimony) and that she believed certain of the line items did not relate to her case. Such allegations may not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment. See Brown v. Henderson, 257 F.3d 246, 252 (2d Cir.2001) ([F]actual allegations that might otherwise defeat a motion for summary judgment will not be permitted to do so when they are made for the first time in the plaintiff's affidavit opposing summary judgment and that affidavit contradicts [the plaintiff's] own prior deposition testimony.). 35 The defendants' motion for summary judgment on their counterclaim was properly supported. The defendants submitted an affidavit from Mason that asserted: (1) numerous costs and expenses were incurred by MKM throughout the course of the arbitration; (2) Rubens never disputed her responsibility to pay these costs and expenses; (3) Rubens disputed only the amount of expert fees due to Dr. Winston Paley but no other costs or fees; (4) MKM sent numerous letters to Rubens requesting payment; (5) Rubens did not pay most of the costs and expenses; and as a result, (6) MKM incurred $11,978.31 in costs and expenses on her behalf. Annexed to Mason's affidavit as Exhibit B was a true and correct accounting of the costs and expenses incurred by MKM on behalf of Ms. Rubens. The disbursements were made for the types of expenses generally considered reasonable. See 1 Robert L. Rossi, ATTORNEYS' FEES § 1:27 (3d ed.2002) (noting that stenographic services, expert witness fees and attorney travel expenses have been deemed reasonable expenses). All bear the billing code assigned to the Rubens matter or reference the names of experts who testified at the arbitration, the United States Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Virginia, which administers the Dalkon Shield Trust, or the city where the arbitration took place. In the face of such detailed documentation, Rubens's unsupported conjecture that certain of the items did not correspond to her case cannot defeat summary judgment.