Abadie v. Target Corporation of Minnesota ( 2021 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA LAUREN ABADIE, ET AL. CIVIL ACTION VERSUS NO. 18-14112 TARGET CORPORATION OF SECTION “R” (4) MINNESOTA ORDER Before the Court is defendant Target Corporation of Minnesota’s motion to set deposition fees for its expert witness.1 Plaintiffs Lauren and Brett Abadie oppose the motion.2 The Court referred the matter to Magistrate Judge Karen Wells Roby for a report and recommendation (“R&R”) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). Defendant asks the Court to set the deposition fees for its medical costs analysis expert, John Kocke.3 In an affidavit, Kocke attests that he generally charges a flat fee of $1,200 for the first hour of a deposition, plus $175 for each additional hour.4 The $1,200 fee is meant to cover one hour of 1 R. Doc. 40. 2 R. Doc. 45. 3 R. Doc. 40. 4 R. Doc. 40-3 at 2, ¶ 13. testimony, the costs of travel, and time spent preparing for the deposition.5 Because the deposition in this matter would occur over Zoom, Kocke attests that he agreed to a reduced fee of $800 for the first hour of deposition time plus preparation time.6 Plaintiffs objected to Kocke’s proposed billing rate, arguing that they should only need to pay $350—one hour for preparation and one hour for deposition time at Kocke’s hourly rate of $175.7 Based on the large number of topics that Kocke is expected to testify to, Magistrate Judge Roby found that the $800 fee for the first hour8 of deposition time was reasonable.9 She also found that the $175 hourly rate for every hour after the first was reasonable.10 Accordingly, Magistrate Judge Roby recommended granting Target’s motion.11 Plaintiffs did not object to the R&R. Thus, the Court reviews it for plain error. Douglass v. United Servs. Auto. Ass’n, 79 F.3d 1415, 1430 (5th Cir. 1996); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b) advisory committee’s note (1983) (“When no timely objection is filed, the court need only satisfy itself that there is no 5 Id. 6 Id. at ¶ 14. 7 R. Doc. 40-6 at 1. 8 At Kocke’s hourly rate of $175, the $800 fee accounts for one hour of actual testimony, and approximately 3.5 hours of preparation. Magistrate Judge Roby found this reasonable. R. Doc. 46 at 6. 9 Id. at 5-6. 10 Id. at 6. 11 Id. clear error on the face of the record in order to accept the recommendation.”). The Court finds no plain error and adopts Magistrate Judge’s Roby’s R&R as its opinion. Accordingly, the Court GRANTS Target’s motion to set a deposition fee for its medical costs analysis expert. The Court sets the deposition fee for the first hour of Kocke’s testimony, including preparation, at $800. The Court also sets the deposition fee to $175 for each hour of deposition testimony after the first. New Orleans, Louisiana, this__ 8th day of April, 2021. Lerak Vier SARAH S. VANCE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE