Trial Practices, Inc. v. Hahn Loeser & Parks, LLP
The Florida Supreme Court answered a certified question about whether pre-2014 Rule Regulating the Florida Bar 4-3.4(b) allows a party to pay a fact witness for 'assistance with case and discovery preparation.' The Court rejected the Second District's broad rule, holding that such payments are permitted only when the assistance is directly related to the witness preparing for, attending, or testifying at proceedings. Because the trial court's unitemized cost award made it unclear which witness payments were included, the Court quashed the Second District's decision and remanded.
Key facts
- Trial Practices, Inc. sought to recover witness payments totaling $317,873.64 as taxable costs against opposing counsel Hahn Loeser & Parks, LLP under a fee-shifting provision.
- The trial court awarded the costs without itemizing which specific witness payments were included; the Second District affirmed, applying a broad interpretation of allowable witness payments.
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Why it matters
This is the Florida Supreme Court's definitive statement on how much a party may pay a fact witness and still recover those payments as taxable costs under a fee-shifting provision. Litigators handling complex… — full analysis with a trial
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