## Facts

- El Dorado Meat Company sued Yosemite Meat and Locker Service, Inc. for business-tort and statutory claims alleging anticompetitive conduct that allegedly forced El Dorado out of business.
- After a jury verdict and judgment for Yosemite on all claims, Yosemite sought recovery of litigation costs as the prevailing party.
- At trial, Yosemite used “Exhibit 600,” a 37-page summary of voluminous business records; the underlying records (about 160,000 pages) were also admitted into evidence.
- Yosemite filed a memorandum of costs totaling about $191,566, including $143,809 tied to Exhibit 600 and related materials and presentation.
- The $143,809 included: (1) $111,063 for accounting and non-attorney personnel services to process and compile data for the summary exhibit; (2) $30,495 to photocopy approximately 160,000 pages of records used at trial; and (3) $2,250 for projection equipment used to display documents to the jury.
- El Dorado moved to strike or deny the $143,809, arguing the items were not recoverable litigation costs.
- The trial court rejected the objections and awarded Yosemite the full $143,809.
- El Dorado appealed only the disputed $143,809 cost award.

## Issues

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by awarding $143,809 in costs for creating and presenting a summary exhibit and related trial materials.
2. Whether professional compilation services, photocopying of voluminous trial exhibits, and projection equipment costs are allowable as costs reasonably necessary to the conduct of the litigation under California cost law.

## Decision

- The Court of Appeal affirmed the cost award in full.
- The court held the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing costs for professional services used to compile and summarize voluminous business records for trial.
- The court upheld photocopying costs for underlying documents admitted and used as trial exhibits.
- The court upheld the projection-equipment cost as a permissible trial-presentation expense in aiding the jury’s review of voluminous records.
- The court concluded El Dorado did not meet its burden to show the challenged costs were unauthorized or unreasonable.

## Legal Principles

- A trial court’s ruling on a memorandum of costs is reviewed for abuse of discretion; reversal requires a showing the ruling was arbitrary, capricious, or patently absurd.
- A verified memorandum of costs is prima facie evidence the costs were properly incurred; the objecting party bears the burden to show an item is not allowable or was not reasonably necessary.
- Costs not expressly itemized as allowable may still be awarded when the trial court finds they were reasonably necessary to the conduct of the litigation rather than merely convenient.
- Expenses for preparing summaries of voluminous records, including necessary professional data-processing and compilation work, may be recoverable when tied to evidentiary presentation at trial.
- Photocopying costs for documents actually used as trial exhibits may be recoverable even when the volume is large, if reasonably connected to trial needs.
- Trial-presentation technology or equipment costs may be allowed when they materially assist the trier of fact in reviewing documentary evidence.

## Conclusion

The court affirmed the trial court’s award of $143,809 in costs, concluding that the professional compilation of a summary exhibit, photocopying of voluminous trial records, and projection equipment were reasonably necessary litigation expenses and that El Dorado failed to show an abuse of discretion.


El Dorado Meat Co. v. Yosemite Meat & Locker Serv., Inc., 150 Cal. App. 4th 612, 58 Cal. Rptr. 3d 590 (Ct. App. 5th Dist. 2007)