Opinion ID: 2631062
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: costs recoverable under section 61-1-4(g)

Text: {21} Riegger averred that the Board erred in requiring repayment of the transcription costs of the hearing before Hearing Officer Khalsa. Riegger claims that the Board opted to employ a stenographer instead of making a tape recording of the proceedings, and that he should not be responsible for costs the Board elected to incur. The Board contends that Section 61-1-12 authorizes it to make a stenographic transcript and thus is a recoverable cost. We agree with the Board that the transcription costs are recoverable. {22} Section 61-1-12 states, [t]he [hearing] record shall be preserved by any stenographic method in use in the district courts of this state, or in the discretion of the board, by tape recording. The Legislature has clearly stated that a stenographic record will be made, and gives the Board the discretion to choose to tape record the proceedings instead. See NMSA 1978, § 12-2A-4(A) (1997) (`Shall' . . . express[es] a duty, obligation, requirement or condition precedent.). Additionally, Rule 1-054(D)(2)(d) and Section 61-32-24(F)(2) explicitly permit the Board to recover transcription costs. Consequently, on remand, the district court should presume that the Board can assess these transcription costs against Riegger.
{23} The Board assessed the cost associated with its expert witness, Dr. Elizabeth Martinez, to Riegger. The district court ruled this cost was not authorized by Rule 1-054(D)(2) because it viewed Dr. Martinez's testimony as cumulative of another expert witness who volunteered his services to the Board. Riegger, 2006-NMCA-069, ¶ 27, 139 N.M. 679, 137 P.3d 619. Riegger urges this Court to adopt the district court's reasoning. The Board claims that Dr. Martinez was its primary witness, her testimony was not cumulative, and, therefore, her costs should be recoverable under Rule 1-054(D)(2)(g). We agree with the Board that Dr. Martinez's testimony was not cumulative and, as a result, we assume assessment of her costs is permissible. {24} We begin by looking to Rule 1-054(D)(2)(g) and Section 61-32-24(F)(7), which both permit recovery of expert witness costs. Rule 1-054(D)(2)(g) references a different statute, which states: The expert witness fee which may be allowed by the court shall be limited to one expert regarding liability and one expert regarding damages unless the court finds that additional expert testimony was reasonably necessary to the prevailing party and the expert testimony was not cumulative. NMSA 1978, § 38-6-4(B) (1983). In this case, the Board had two witnesses, but only sought recovery of Dr. Martinez's costs. Under the plain language of Rule 1-054 and Section 61-32-24(F), the Board is entitled to recover the cost of at least one expert witness as the prevailing party, thereby permitting recovery of Dr. Martinez's costs. {25} The district court found that Dr. Martinez's testimony was cumulative of the other witness and thus precluded recovery. While the district court ignored the plain language of Rule 1-054, its finding that Dr. Martinez's testimony was cumulative was not supported by the evidence. Dr. Martinez was the Board's only expert to testify before Hearing Officer Khalsa. The Board reviewed the other expert witness's deposition, but only cited the deposition once in its decision. Based on this record, the district court could not find that Dr. Martinez's testimony was cumulative of the other expert witness. Consequently, we remand assessment of this cost to the district court in light of Rule 1-054 and Section 61-32-24(F).