Adams
Adams v. Ford Motor Co.
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Johnson, J.
*1478 Opinion
Appellants Billie Jean Adams and her three children (Adams) brought suit for general and special damages against respondent Ford Motor Company (Ford) following the death of their husband and father, Richard Adams. A few days before trial, Ford made a settlement offer under Code of Civil Procedure section 998 (section 998) in the amount of $2,500 per plaintiff, totaling $10,000. 1 Ford’s section 998 offer also included a mutual waiver of costs. Adams rejected the offer and the parties proceeded to trial. In December 2009, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Ford.
In February 2010, Ford filed a memorandum of costs, seeking to recover expenses totaling $185,741.82, including $167,570 in expert witness fees, pursuant to section 998, subdivision (c). Adams filed a motion to tax costs, arguing that Ford’s section 998 settlement offer was unreasonable and made in bad faith, and that Ford’s expert witness fees were not reasonably necessary for Ford’s preparation of trial. The trial court denied Adams’s motion, finding that Ford’s settlement offer was reasonable, and that Ford’s expert witness fees were reasonably necessary for Ford’s defense at trial.