Gebelein v. Blumfield

Defendant, Dr. Irvin H. Blumfield, appeals from a judgment entered by the circuit court of Madison County ordering him to pay plaintiffs, Linda Gebelein and John Gebelein, $523.60 for litigation costs they incurred prior to reaching a settlement with defendant. The sole issue before us is whether the trial court properly taxed as costs to defendant the expenses of a deposition taken by plaintiffs and plaintiffs’ filing and service fees where the parties reached a settlement agreement prior to judgment. We reverse.

On August 14, 1985, plaintiffs filed a complaint alleging defendant negligently…