Under 28 U.S.C. § 1920 and Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(d), a prevailing party may request the Clerk of Court to tax allowable costs in a civil action as part of a judgment or decree. The prevailing party begins this procedure by filing a bill of costs on form AO 133.
In this Court, the taxation of costs is entrusted to the Clerk in the first instance, but the Clerk’s discretion to award costs is limited. In the exercise of this discretion, the Clerk must deny costs not permitted by statute, case law, or the most recent version of the Clerk’s Guidelines for Bills of Costs, even if the opposing party has failed to file an objection to taxation.
Resources
- Bill of Costs Form (AO 133)
- Guidelines for Bills of Costs
- Electronic Filing Instructions for Bills of Costs