ST. LOUIS – A federal judge has ruled in favor of a company that prevailed in a legal battle against a former employee in its motion for a bill of costs.
Plaintiff Jennifer Gierer worked in sales for Rehab Medical and sued the company in federal court alleging retaliation for engaging in unlawful acts under the False Claims Act, unpaid commissions, unjust enrichment and wrongful termination. On March 14, 2017, Judge Charles Shaw of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri entered summary judgment in favor of Rehab Medical on only the False Claims Act count, but declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claims and dismissed them without prejudice.
Rehab Medical moved for a bill of costs, and while that was pending Gierer filed the three state law claims in state court. Rehab Medical removed that complaint to federal court based on diversity jurisdiction. Shaw then ruled Rehab Medical should be awarded 25 percent of its cost in defending against Gierer’s initial federal complaint.
On Sept. 30, 2018, Judge Henry Edward Autrey of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri granted Rehab Medical’s motion for summary judgment in Gierer’s second complaint, and Rehab Medical followed by again requesting costs as the prevailing party. Rather than submit a new bill, Autrey wrote in an opinion filed May 30, Rehab Medical just asked for the remaining 75 percent of the costs from the first lawsuit.
Autrey’s opinion deferred to Shaw’s review of arguments in the initial awarding of costs. Gierer again took issue with some depositions she said ultimately weren’t used to bolster the motion for summary judgment as well as the expense of video recording of depositions.
“Judge Shaw fully and adequately addressed (Gierer’s) objection to the purportedly unused depositions, and found that ‘the depositions of these witnesses reasonably seemed necessary at the time.’ To relitigate this issue… would be a waste of judicial resources,” Autrey wrote.
Autrey awarded Rehab Medical $8,667, calculated as the amount it incurred for depositions, $11,556, less than the previously awarded $2,889. He used similar reasoning in determining how much to compensate for witness fees. Whereas Rehab Medical sought $2,840 for nonparty witness Vicky Accardi, Shaw said only her travel fees and compelled mediation were reimbursable at a total of $1,496, and therefore awarded a quarter, or $374, so Autrey awarded the remainder.
For two other witnesses, Shaw accepted the amount proposed and ordered compensation for 25 percent. Autrey noted Gierer didn’t raise new objections to the witness fee requests and so he awarded the remainder, a total of $2,404.
Rehab Medical also sought $2,253 to cover 30 invoices for copy services. Shaw said it wasn’t clear all those services — including scanning, labeling binding and color copies — were “necessarily obtained” and so adopted Gierer’s analysis, awarding only 25 percent of $871. Autrey found “no logical basis” to reverse course from Shaw and awarded only the remaining $653.
Altogether, Autrey determined Gierer now owes $11,726 to Rehab Medical for the expenses associated with depositions, witness fees, copies and exemplification. He ordered the clerk of court to tax Gierer for that amount.