ANNA E. EMIGH AND JACK EMIGH, HER HUSBAND, APPELLANTS,

v.

ALEX TINTER AND HELEN TINTER, HIS WIFE, APPELLEES

Fla. 3d DCA | 1959-02-12

No. 58-415

HORTON, Acting Chief Judge, PEARSON, J., and WIGGINTON, JOHN T., Associate Judge, concur.

108 So. 2d 913 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1959) Positive Treatment

Cited by 18 cases

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Holding

The court held that the expenses of depositions are taxable as costs only if they served a useful purpose in the trial, and the record must show this. The trial court abused its discretion by taxing costs for depositions not shown to be useful.

Facts & Procedural History

Appellees took several depositions that were neither introduced nor used at trial, yet the expenses were taxed as costs against the appellants. The re…

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Topics

Taxable Costs Discretion Of Trial Court

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Opinion of the Court

PER CURIAM.

Judgment appealed from is affirmed except the part thereof awarding costs to appellees.

It appears from the record that appellees took testimony by deposition of several witnesses, which depositions were neither introduced in evidence nor used in any manner during the course of the trial. The expenses incurred in procuring these depositions were taxed as cost against the unsuccessful appellants.

Whether the expenses of procuring depositions may be allowed as taxable costs in a civil action rests in the sound discretion of the trial court.1 This court is committed to the proposition that a proper administration of justice requires that costs of litigation be kept within reasonable bounds. It has been recently held that the fundamental question to be determined in taxing costs for the taking of depositions is did the deposition serve a useful purpose in the trial of the cause.2 Whether the depositions taken by the parties serve a useful purpose lies in the sound discretion of the trial judge, which discretion will not be disturbed absent a showing of abuse.

The record before us is devoid of any showing by appellees that all the depositions for which costs have been allowed them served a useful purpose, nor does the judgment awarding costs contain any findings by the trial judge to that effect.

The judgment is accordingly reversed and the cause remanded for the entry of an appropriate judgment awarding costs to appellees in accordance with the principles stated herein.

Affirmed in part and reversed in part and remanded.

HORTON, Acting Chief Judge, PEARSON, J., and WIGGINTON, JOHN T., Associate Judge, concur.

Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus

Citator

Cited By

Crane v. Stulz, 136 So. 2d 238 (Fla. 2d DCA 1961)

…atutes § 58.13, F.S.A. This is, however, a legal discretion which should he compatible with the requirement that costs of litigation be kept within reasonable bounds. Wilson v. Rooney, Fla.App.1958, 101 So. 2d 892. In Emigh v. Tinter, Fla. App.1959, 108 So. 2d 913, 914, the court disallowed as taxable costs the expenses of procuring certain depositions. The court said : “The record before us is devoid of any showing * * * that all the depositions for which costs have been allowed * * * served a useful purpos…
Gordon Int'l Advertising, Inc. v. Charlotte Cnty. Land & Title Co., 170 So. 2d 59 (Fla. 3d DCA 1964)

…d 535. . Lee v. Melvin, Fla.1949, 40 So. 2d 837, and cases cited therein; Perper v. Sonnabend, 221 F. 2d 142 (5th Cir. 1955). . 8 Fla.Jur. Costs, § 4 et seq. . id. . Loftin v. Anderson, Fla. 1953, 66 So. 2d 470. . Emigh v. Tinter, Fla.App.1959, 108 So. 2d 913; Wilson v. Rooney, Fla.App.1958, 101 So. 2d 892. . id. . Modick v. Carvel Stores of N. Y., Inc., 209 F.Supp. 361 (S.D.N.Y.1962); Annotation, 57 A.L.R.2d 1243 (1958).…
Butler v. Borowsky, 120 So. 2d 656 (Fla. 3d DCA 1960)

…tion or testimony was not taken cannot be allowed to stand as recoverable cost. See In re First Bond & Mortgage Company, 5 Cir., 1935, 74 F. 2d 930. Cf. Dorner v. Red Top Cab & Baggage Co., 160 Fla. 882, 37 So. 2d 160; Emigh v. Tinter, Fla.App.1959, 108 So. 2d 913. Further, no statutory or other provision has been cited in support of the allowance of travel expenses of counsel as recoverable costs, nor has there been any showing of agreement, express or implied, to that effect. We, therefore, conclude that th…

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Authorities Cited

Loftin v. Anderson, 66 So. 2d 470 (Fla. 1953)
Wilson v. Rooney, 101 So. 2d 892 (Fla. 2d DCA 1958)

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