Judge: Michele E. Flurer, Case: BC719841, Date: 2022-09-15 Tentative Ruling


Case Number: BC719841    Hearing Date: September 15, 2022    Dept: S10

                                                               SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

                                                                  COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES -SOUTH DISTRICT

RICHARD ENDRESZL, JR., an individual,

            Plaintiff,

             v.

 ABRAHAM BENJAMIN SERRANO, JR., an individual; MANOUK MICHAEL ANTONYAN, an individual;

            Defendants.

 AND ALL RELATED CROSS-ACTIONS

 

Case No.: BC719841

 

 

 

 Court’s Ruling on:

1)     Defendant, Cross-Complainant, Cross-Defendant Antonyan’s Motion to Tax Costs;

2)     Plaintiff Endreszl’s Motion for Prejudgment Interest

 

  ORDER

 

 

 

 

Defendant, Cross-Defendant and Cross-Complainant, Manouk Michael Antonyan filed a Motion to Tax costs requesting that Plaintiff’s costs be reduced unless he demonstrates that the claimed expert fees were incurred for work done after Plaintiff’s CCP § 998 Offer.

 

Plaintiff responded by reducing Plaintiff’s expert fee request as follows:

 

“Plaintiff agrees to reduce his section 8b expert fees to those incurred on or after January 27, 2022, only, as itemized below (strikethrough text are expert fees prior to January 27, 2022):

Aaron Coppelson MD:

Trial Fee                                  $4500

Lawrence Borelli MD:

10/22/21                                 $1500

Carlos Garrett MD:

11/10/21                                 $800

Craigmyle Legal Nurse Services:

8/24/21                                   $4800

10/18/21-1/26/22                  $775

1/27/22-1/29/22                    $1750

5/31/22-6/1/22                      $2242

Christopher Furbish:

2/10/22 Depo                         $1330

Jayson Hymes MD:

9/15/21                                   $1500

Ronald Kvitne:

2/2/22 Depo                           $1500

Josephine Lee:

10/19/21                                 $600

Nourian MD:

Trial                                         $9100

6/25/20                                   $350

Roger Thrush:

2/23/22 Depo                         $700

SCOI MOTO/Barcohana:

9/22/21                                   $892.87

Wayne Press:

9/21/21                                   $650

S CA Ortho Institute:

9/20/21                                   $307.13

VA Forensics:

9/29/21                                   $2500

12/17/21-12/28/21                $3950

1/10/22-1/13/22                    $4597.50

2/1/22-2/8/22                        $4973.75 (3)

5/16/22-5/31/22                    $7956.25 (4)

Vocational Economics, LLC:

9/29/21                                   $5000

Life Care Plan 2/1/22              $3000

Trial Fee                                  $2500

8b TOTAL:                               $67,774.50      $39,552”

 

After eliminating expert fees incurred before January 27, 2022, Plaintiff’s stated its expert fees, amounted to: $39,552.  Plaintiff’s total request for costs was reduced from $423,493.71 to $395,271.21.  

 

It appears that Defendant Antonyan did not file a reply.

 

Plaintiff filed a Motion for prejudgment interest pursuant to CCP § 998. The defense offered no substantive challenge in its opposition, stating only that the Motion was unnecessary as Plaintiff had already included the request for prejudgment interest in their Memorandum of Costs. (Opp. 2.)

 

Based on the foregoing the Court rules as follows:

Conclusion

 

Costs Requested

Amount Reduced

Costs Awarded

$423,493.71

$28,222.50

$395,271.21.  

 

The Court strikes/reduces the fees noted above and the clerk is directed to enter costs in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendant Antonyan in the amount of $395,271.21.  

 

IT IS SO Ordered.