Vossman v. AirNet Sys., Inc.
2017 Ohio 2872
| Ohio Ct. App. | 2017Background
- Plaintiff Dan Vossman, an AirNet pilot, sued appellees for age discrimination; trial court granted summary judgment to defendants and this Court affirmed.
- After judgment, AirNet sought taxable costs of $3,641.70 for deposition transcripts of Vossman and four AirNet employees.
- The trial court taxed the full amount of deposition-transcript expenses to Vossman under Civ.R. 54(D).
- Vossman appealed, arguing no statutory authority permits deposition-transcript expenses to be taxed as costs (relying on Williamson).
- Defendants argued R.C. 2303.21 authorizes taxing transcript expenses when a transcript is necessary (e.g., for summary judgment).
- The court reviewed precedents and local rules requiring depositions be filed for summary-judgment motions and affirmed the award under R.C. 2303.21 and Civ.R. 54(D).
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether deposition-transcript expenses can be taxed as costs under Civ.R. 54(D) | Williamson bars taxing deposition-related costs because no statute authorizes taxing deposition expenses | R.C. 2303.21 authorizes taxing transcript expenses when a transcript is necessary (e.g., for summary-judgment proceedings) | Court affirmed: transcript costs taxable where transcripts were necessary and used/required for summary-judgment proceedings |
Key Cases Cited
- Williamson v. Ameritech Corp., 81 Ohio St.3d 342 (discusses limits on taxing deposition-related fees and holds R.C. 2319.27 does not authorize taxing court-reporter deposition fees as costs)
- Vance v. Roedersheimer, 64 Ohio St.3d 552 (definition of "costs" as statutory fees payable to officers, witnesses, jurors, etc.)
- Benda v. Fana, 10 Ohio St.2d 259 (framework defining statutory nature of taxable costs)
- In re Election of November 6, 1990 for the Office of Atty. Gen. of Ohio, 62 Ohio St.3d 1 (statutory-basis analysis for taxable costs)
- Miller v. Gustus, 90 Ohio App.3d 622 (treats court-reporter fees in deposition contexts)
- Haller v. Borror, 107 Ohio App.3d 432 (addresses deposition/transcript cost recovery)