Ream v. Barr

MB. JUSTICE PLUMMER Delivered the Opinion of the Court.

Both the plaintiff and the parties defendant appeal from an order taxing costs in the above-entitled action. The plaintiff appeals from the order denying his motion to strike out the cost bills filed by the defendants and the defendants appeal from the order of the court disallowing certain items in their cost bill, the order of the court disallowing only two items, to wit, $49.22, costs of tak

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ing the deposition of the defendant Monte S. Hemmy, and disallowing the sum of $100 attorneys’ fees to each one of the several defendants, being presented in the defendants’ brief for our consideration, we will give our attention only to the items here objected to.

The record shows that on or about July 12, 1927, the plaintiff commenced an action against the defendants in the Superior Court of Siskiyou County to recover damages in the sum of $50,000, the damages alleged to have been suffered by the plaintiff for and on account of the publication by the defendants of certain false and defamatory charges, etc. All of the defendants were served by summons, and all of the defendants, excepting the defendant Zelle, employed as their attorneys Messrs. Tebbe & Tebbe of Yreka and Messrs. Carter & Smith of Redding. These defendants appeared jointly, by demurrer, the demurrer being overruled as to all of the defendants, except the defendants Elsie V. Brooks and H. W. Brooks, and the action being dismissed on motion by plaintiff as to these two last-named defendants, the remaining defendants, represented by the attorneys just named, filed a joint answer to the plaintiff’s complaint. The trial resulted in the verdict and judgment in favor of the defendants. The attorneys named participated in the trial of the action. Within five days, as provided by law, after the entry of judgment, the defendants filed separate cost bills enumerating the various items of costs incurred by the defendants jointly, and each defendant claimed one-fourteenth of the total amount of costs to which all of the defendants were entitled jointly. Each defendant also claimed $100 attorneys’ fees. A joint judgment for costs was entered', and attorneys’ fees allowed only in the sum of $100, to be apportioned among all of the defendants. The plaintiff made a motion to strike out the cost bills on the ground that the defendants should have joined and filed only one cost bill, and also made a motion to strike out the amount claimed by each defendant as an attorney fee, and also to strike out the item of $49.22 heretofore mentioned. The court denied the motion to strike out the cost bills, and entered an order awarding costs to the defendants jointly.