California Court of Appeal

Following a jury verdict in favor of plaintiff in finding that defendant was the sole negligent cause of an automobile accident and in awarding plaintiff total damages of $728,703.83, trial court's denial of plaintiff's request for expert fees and prejudgment interest is affirmed as, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in granting defendant's motion to tax costs and thereby denying recovery of special costs pursuant to section 998, as although the section 998 offer was served concurrently with the summons and complaint, there were no special circumstances present to show that at that early juncture in the case, defendant's counsel had access to information or a reasonable opportunity to evaluate plaintiff's offer within the 30-day period.

Appellate Information

• Decided 01/10/2011
• Published 01/10/2011

Judges

• Kane

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• John R. Malmo, Bruce J. Berger