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In this civil rights case brought under Section 13-21-131 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, Dale Waugh appealed the portion of the district court’s order that awarded costs to defendants, Denver police officers Daniel Veith and Steven Anderson.
Subsection 3 of section 13-21-131 provides that, “[w]hen a judgment is entered in favor of a defendant, the court may award reasonable costs and attorney fees to the defendant for defending any claims the court finds frivolous.”
Although the district court did not find any of Waugh’s claims to be frivolous, it still awarded costs to the officers under Section 13-16-105 and Rule 54(d), reasoning that the subsection did not limit recovery of costs to a prevailing defendant under that statute and rule.
The Colorado Court of Appeals disagreed with the court’s interpretation of these provisions. Instead, it held that the subsection controls and precluded the court from awarding costs to the officers without finding that Waugh’s claims were frivolous.
The appeals court reversed the district court’s award of costs to the officers.