Opinion
No. 02 C 8873.
October 3, 2005
MEMORANDUM ORDER
After this Court granted summary judgment in favor of The Boeing Company ("Boeing") against Jay LaBouve ("LaBouve"), Boeing filed a motion seeking the award of taxable costs in its favor as the prevailing party, to which LaBouve has just filed a brief response. That response is not entirely accurate in saying that this Court "has discretion under Rule 54 to deny the request for costs" — or more precisely, the exercise of any such discretion is circumscribed by the unsuccessful plaintiff's need to show that he does not have the wherewithal to pay such costs (see, e.g., Badillo v. Central Steel Wire Co., 717 F.2d. 1160, 1165 (7th Cir. 1983), upholding this Court's denial of costs on that basis).
In this instance LaBouve's counsel has asserted some general grounds of economic hardship on his client's part in that respect, but that assertion must be more particularized (perhaps through the submission of a balance sheet to supplement the statement as to LaBouve's long-term unemployment, coupled with a more explicit showing as to the adverse effects of Hurricane Rita) before this Court can properly consider denying the award of costs. This Court will therefore await a prompt further submission on LaBouve's part before acting on the motion.