Opinion
Civil No. 1:04cv202.
September 16, 2005
OPINION AND ORDER
This matter is before the court on a "Motion to Stay Taxation of Defendant's Bill of Costs", filed by the plaintiff, Rebecca N. Beard ("Beard"), on July 25, 2005. The defendant, Hall Drive-Ins, Inc. ("Hall"), responded on August 9, 2005. Beard has not filed a reply.
Discussion
On July 20, 2005, the court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendant on all of Beard's claims. Pursuant to Rule 54(d)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Hall (as prevailing party) filed its bill of costs, in the amount of $2,764.51, against Beard.
In her present motion, Beard states that she will be appealing the summary judgment order soon, and thus requests that taxation of costs against her be stayed pending outcome of her appeal to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
In response to Beard's motion, Hall points out that Local Rule 54.1 addresses the time within which a prevailing party must file and serve a request for the taxation of costs, and also provides that failing to file within the proper time "shall be deemed a waiver of the right to make such a request. . . ." Hall also indicates that it does not intend to execute on the taxation of costs until the resolution of any timely appeal filed by Beard.
Hall is clearly correct that it had to file a bill of costs to preserve the right, and is also wise to delay execution of the taxation until completion of the appeal process. Thus, in light of the fact that Hall has agreed to stay execution of the taxation of costs, the court will deny Beard's motion to stay as moot. It is worth noting, however, that it seems apparent that this non-issue could have been resolved by a polite telephone conversation, and did not merit wasting both the plaintiff's assets and the court's resources by filing a motion. The court trusts that counsel will keep this advice in mind when practicing in this court.
Conclusion
For the foregoing reasons, Beard's motion to stay is hereby DENIED AS MOOT.