Wednesday, January 7th, 2009...4:06 pm
DAlaska: Inapplicability of Alaska Civil Rule 79 to State Claim in Federal Court
U. S. District Judge John Sedwick has held that Alaska Civil Rule 79 (”Costs - Taxation and Review”) does not apply to a state law claim brought in federal court. He, thus, granted Rule 82 fees but not Rule 79 costs to prevailing defendant. Sedwick stated:
While there is ample authority for the proposition that Alaska Rule 82 applies to state law claims litigated in federal court, the court is unaware of any authority which would authorize this court to award nontaxable costs [under Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(d)(1)] pursuant to Alaska Rule 79, and defendants cite none. This court’s local rules contemplate the applicability of Alaska Rule 82 to claims for attorney’s fees, but do not contemplate the award of costs pursuant to Alaska Rule 79. The state court rule does not provide a basis for an award of nontaxable expenses.
Urich v. Fraize, 2008 WL 5429826 (D.Alaska Dec. 31, 2008)(footnotes omitted).
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.