Brandenburg Land Co. v. Champion International Corp.

LEWIS, Judge.

The issue in this case is whether an expert’s fee for the preparation of documents used to support defendant’s motion for summary judgment can be taxed as a cost to a plaintiff who takes a voluntary dismissal after the motion for summary judgment has been filed, but before calendaring.

On 12 April 1979, plaintiff filed suit against defendant to remove a cloud upon its title to four tracts of land claimed by both parties. For nearly twelve years, negotiations continued in an attempt to settle out of court. During this period, there were illnesses, deaths, and changes of counsel on…