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Brunt v. Stoddard12/28/2001
r the operation of Stoddard's vehicle and was under no obligation to monitor the operation of the vehicle. See id. The district court found that the acts of the passenger, Hopkins, had no causal connection with the injuries sustained by Van Brunt. Testimony by Hopkins that he felt partially responsible for the accident does not, in and of itself, make him contributorily negligent. We conclude that, having found no breach of duty by Hopkins and no causal connection between his actions and the resultant injuries to Van Brunt, the district court properly excluded Hopkins from the special verdict form.
IV. REDUCTION IN PROPERTY DAMAGE AWARD
Next, Stoddard argues that he was entitled to a reduction in the property damage measured by the percentage of fault that the jury attributed to Michael Van Brunt. Stoddard asserts that he should only have been assessed with ninety percent of the loss of Brett Van Brunt's motorcycle due to the accident.
Pursuant to I.C. § 6-802, the district court shall reduce the amount of damages attributable to each party in proportion to the amount of negligence or comparative responsibility attributable to the person recovering. Because the jury determined Michael Van Brunt to be ten percent negligent, Stoddard's responsibility for his proportionate share of the loss was ninety percent. The parties found to be negligent by the jury, including Michael Van Brunt are liable to Brett Van Brunt, the owner of the motorcycle who was not negligent, for his loss. It was error for the district court not to reduce the property damage award to reflect the share of responsibility attributed by the jury to Michael Van Brunt. Therefore, we vacate the award and order entry of the judgment in accordance with our holding.
V. JUDGMENT AMOUNT
Stoddard raises another challenge to the amount of the judgment entered against him. He argues that the judgment should be reduced by the amount of medical bills and lost wages in the form of sick leave pay that Van Brunt received from work-related benefits. In that Van Brunt did not suffer lost wages by using accumulated sick time leave and may or may not repurchase that sick time used, Stoddard argues that any claimed lost wages are speculative at best.
Idaho Code, Section 6-1606 prohibits double recoveries from collateral sources. Collateral sources, under the statute, shall not include benefits paid under federal programs, which by law must seek subrogation. I.C. § 6-1606.
It is undisputed that Van Brunt worked for the United States Postal Service, which provided Stoddard with a notice of subrogation to recover the medical bills paid on behalf of Van Brunt. Stoddard's argument that he is entitled to a reduction in the judgment as to medical bills and lost wages previously paid, based on the collateral source rule, is without merit.
VI. EXPERT WITNESS FEES
The district court awarded $14,325 in discretionary costs for expert witness fees. Stoddard argues the district court ignored the limitations of I.R.C.P. 54(d)(1)(C)(8) that authorizes payment of $500 per expert witness, except if the fees are shown to be exceptional and necessary. Stoddard maintains that the district court made no findings to support its award, except to hold that the costs were necessitated "because of the defense posture that was taken in this case," which finding the court later struck on the defense's motion.
A prevailing party may seek discretionary costs under I.R.C.P. 54 (d)(1)(D), which commits the decision whether or not to award costs to the discretion of the district court. Subsection (C)(8) of Rule 54(d)(1) provides for costs as a matter of right for reasonabl
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