Costs

January 30, 2017

Although the issue of costs is discretionary, there are rules to guide judges as to how to address the issue of costs following a contested hearing (usually a motion or a trial).
Following a lengthy trial with a self-represented client on the other side, the judge had to deal with the issue of costs. As my client (the husband) was the successful party, he was presumed entitled to costs. The problem was that the wife was essentially impecunious, and argued that she had no ability to contribute towards my client’s costs in any significant amount. The judge accepted my argument that the wife pay costs to my client by way of a reduction of his spousal support payments, until the costs (ultimately awarded in the amount of $31,000) were paid in full. My client was thrilled that he was able to pay a lower amount of support over several years! The link to this costs case, as well as other ones in which I have been involved as counsel, can be found here, here, and here.