Bruner
Geldermann, Inc. v. Bruner
Opinion
Opinion
King, J.
In this case we hold a prevailing appellant may not recover a charge he incurred to obtain a letter of credit as security for an appeal bond.
Geldermann, Inc., won a money judgment against Alston L. Bruner, who appealed. Bruner posted an appeal bond. (Code Civ. Proc., § 917.1.) In order to secure the bond, Bruner obtained a letter of credit from Wells Fargo Bank. The bank charged $28,676 for the letter of credit. The premium on the appeal bond was $26,340.
Bruner prevailed on appeal. We reversed the judgment and awarded costs to Bruner. (Geldermann, Inc. v. Bruner (1991) 229 Cal.App.3d 662 [ 280 Cal.Rptr. 264 ].)
On remand, Bruner filed a memorandum of costs which included as “surety bond premiums” the $26,340 premium on the appeal bond and the $28,676 charged by Wells Fargo Bank for the letter of credit. Geldermann moved to strike the charge for the letter of credit, citing Golf West of Kentucky, Inc. v. Life Investors, Inc. (1986) 178 Cal.App.3d 313, 316-317 [ 223 Cal.Rptr. 539 ], which held that charges for letters of credit obtained for an appeal bond are not recoverable as costs on appeal. The court granted Geldermann’s motion and ordered the letter of credit…