Zenith Insurance v. Breslaw

This appeal requires us to consider the claims of both parties that the district court wrongfully denied them “prevailing party” status and, accordingly, an award of costs under Rule 54(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In the litigation that spawned this appeal, Zenith Insurance Company (“Zenith”) sued Drs. Leonard Breslaw, Jamshid Azari, Mehdi Khademi, Marvin Santos, and Lloyd Tom (collectively “the doctor defendants”) for alleged violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961-68 (1994). An eight-day trial yielded a special jury…