Opinion
20-24790-CIV-MARTINEZ-BECERRA
09-25-2023
JUANA TEJEDA, Plaintiff, v. COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP., Defendant.
ORDER ADOPTING MAGISTRATE JUDGE'S REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
JOSE E. MARTINEZ, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
THIS MATTER was referred to the Honorable Jacqueline Becerra, United States Magistrate Judge, for a Report and Recommendation (“R&R”) on Defendant's Verified Motion for Attorneys' Fees and Costs, (ECF No 148), (“Verified Motion”), and Motion for Bill of Costs, (ECF No. 153). (ECF No. 156.) Judge Becerra filed an R&R recommending that the Verified Motion be denied without prejudice and the Motion for Bill of Costs be granted in part and denied in part. (ECF No. 160.) Plaintiff filed Objections to the R&R, (ECF No. 161), and Defendant responded, (ECF No. 162).
This Court has a duty to “make a de novo determination of those portions of the report or specified proposed findings or recommendations to which objection is made.” 28 U.S.C. § 636(b). It also may “accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate judge.” Id. The Court, having conducted a de novo review of the record and issues presented in Plaintiff's Objections, agrees with Judge Becerra that (1) at this juncture and on the briefing provided, this Court is satisfied that the Verified Motion be denied without prejudice allowing for the parties to confer as required by the Local Rules with leave to refile a motion that evidences proper conferral; and (2) Defendant is entitled to $30 in process server costs, $2,774.35 in transcript costs, $440 in witness costs, $339.41 in photocopying costs and $1,450 in interpreter costs, for a total award of $5,069.16 in taxable costs. Accordingly, Plaintiff's Objections, (ECF No. 161), are OVERRULED.
Accordingly, after careful consideration, it is hereby ADJUDGED that Judge Becerra's R&R, (ECF No. 160), is AFFIRMED and ADOPTED. Further, it is ADJUDGED that:
1. The Verified Motion, (ECF No. 148), is DENIED without prejudice as set forth in the R&R.
2. Defendant is hereby ORDERED to confer as required by Local Rule 7.3 within thirty days of this Order. Defendant is granted leave to refile a motion that fully complies with the Local Rules and must be accompanied by a thorough memorandum of law that establishes Defendant's entitlement to and the reasonableness of any attorneys' fees requested.
3. The Motion for Bill of Costs, (ECF No. 153), is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART as set forth in the R&R.
DONE AND ORDERED in Miami, Florida, this 25th day of September, 2023.