United States of America, Plaintiff-Appellee-Cross-Appellant v. Trident Seafoods Corporation, Defendant-Appellant-Cross-Appellee

The United States brought an action against Trident Seafoods Corporation (Trident) for violating the Clean Air Act. Trident made an offer of judgment before trial, which the United States rejected. Because the offer of judgment exceeded the final judgment, Trident moved for an award of attorneys’ fees and costs pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 68. The district court denied Trident an award of fees, but granted an award of costs. Trident appeals the order denying fees, and the United States cross-appeals the order awarding costs. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

Trident is a seafood processing corporation. In May 1988, the company purchased and began to renovate an abandoned fish cannery in Anacortes, Washington. To remove asbestos insulation from the facility, Trident hired James Hinton, a general con tractor. He in turn hired a subcontractor, Thomas Stakkeland, who removed over five tons of asbestos during five days in August and September 1988. Stakkeland, who was not certified at the time to remove asbestos, used his eleven-year-old son and a person with no prior experience in asbestos removal to assist in the clean-up. After the clean-up was supposedly completed, at least five bags of…