Judgment; Costs

(a) Definition; Form. “Judgment” as used in these rules includes a decree and any order from which an appeal lies. A judgment should not include recitals of pleadings, a master’s report, or a record of prior proceedings. (b) Judgment on Multiple Claims or Involving Multiple Parties. When an action presents more than one claim for relief—whether as a claim, counterclaim, or third-party claim—or when multiple parties are involved, the court may direct entry of a final judgment as to one or more, but fewer than all, claims or parties only if the court expressly determines that there is no just reason for delay. Otherwise, any order or other decision, however designated, that adjudicates fewer than all the claims or the rights and liabilities of fewer than all the parties does not end the action as to any of the claims or parties and may be revised at any time before the entry of a judgment adjudicating all the claims and all the parties’ rights and liabilities. (c) Demand for Judgment; Relief to Be Granted. A default judgment must not differ in kind from, or exceed in amount, what is demanded in the pleadings. Every other final judgment should grant the relief to which each party is entitled, even if the party has not demanded that relief in its pleadings. (d) Costs; Attorney’s Fees. (1) Costs Other Than Attorney’s Fees. Costs—other than attorney’s fees— should be allowed to the prevailing party to the extent permitted by law. See 28 U.S.C. § 2412(a). (A) Filing a Bill of Costs. A claim for allowable costs must be made by filing a Bill of Costs with the clerk. See Appendix of Forms, Form 4. (B) Timing and Contents of a Bill of Costs. A Bill of Costs must: (i) be filed within 30 days after the judgment, as final § in 28 U.S.C. date of defined 2412(d)(2)(G); (ii) be accompanied by an affidavit and a memorandum setting forth the grounds and authorities supporting all costs other than the filing fee; and (iii) include as exhibits any vouchers, receipts, or invoices supporting the requested costs. (C) Procedures Applicable to a Bill of Costs. (i) Objection. An objection to some or all of the requested costs may be filed within 28 days after service of the Bill of Costs. (ii) Reply. A reply to an objection may be filed within 7 days after service of the objection. (iii) Action by the Clerk. Unless a conference is scheduled by the clerk, or disallowance of costs will be made by the clerk on the existing record. taxation the (iv) Court Review. A motion for review of the clerk’s action may be filed with the court within 14 days after action by the clerk. Unless orders otherwise, the review will be made on the existing record. court the (D) Settlement Agreement. A settlement agreement should, by its own terms, resolve any issue relating to costs and the absence of special agreement, each party must bear its own costs. The clerk may not tax costs on any action terminated by settlement. in (2) Attorney’s Fees. and (A) Claim to Be by Motion. A claim for attorney’s related fees nontaxable expenses must be made by motion unless the substantive law requires those fees to be proved at trial as an element of damages. See Appendix of Forms, Form 5. (B) Timing and Contents of the Motion. Unless a statute or a court order provides otherwise, the motion must: (i) be filed within 30 days after the judgment, as final § in 28 U.S.C. date of defined 2412(d)(2)(G); 77 RCFC 54 (ii) specify the judgment and the statute, rule, or other grounds entitling the the movant award; to (iii) state the amount sought; and (iv) disclose, if the court so orders, the terms of any agreement about fees for the services for which the claim is made. (C) Proceedings. The court may decide issues of liability for fees before receiving submissions on the value of services. The court must find the facts and state its conclusions of law as provided in RCFC 52(a). (D) Procedures Applicable to a Motion for Attorney’s Fees. (i) Response. A response to a motion for attorney’s fees may be filed within 28 days after service of the motion. (ii) Reply. A reply to a response may be filed within 14 days after service of the response. (iii) Subsequent Procedures. After the filing of a response and a reply to a motion for attorney’s fees, the court will enter an order prescribing the procedures to be followed. (E) Exceptions. Subparagraphs (A)–(D) do not apply to claims for fees and expenses as sanctions for violating these rules or as sanctions under 28 U.S.C. § 1927. (As revised and reissued May 1, 2002; as amended July 1, 2004, Nov. 3, 2008, Jan. 11, 2010.) Rules Committee Notes 2002 Revision RCFC 54(d) was revised in several respects. The subdivision was modified to conform its structure to FRCP 54(d). In addition, the subdivision, as rewritten departs from its FRCP counterpart in several respects: First, because the allowance of attorneys’ fees and costs in this court is almost always determined under the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 2412(a), (d) (the Equal Access to Justice Act), it RCFC 55 78 was deemed advisable to reflect this fact in subdivision (d)(2) rather than to retain the broader, but potentially misleading, language that appears in FRCP 54(d)(1). See Neal & Co. v. United States, 121 F.3d 683 (Fed. Cir. 1997). Second, subdivision (d)(1) was enlarged beyond the scope of its FRCP counterpart by the incorporation of RCFC 77.4 (“Taxation of Costs”). Third, subdivision (d)(2) brings together relevant sections of its FRCP counterpart and former RCFC 81(e) (“Application for Attorneys’ Fees”). Finally, the time periods for objecting to a Bill of Costs and for requesting review of the clerk’s action were enlarged. 2004 Amendment The final sentence of RCFC 54(d)(2)(D) was deleted in conformance with RCFC 53(a)(1). 2008 Amendment The language of RCFC 54 has been amended to conform to the general restyling of the FRCP. 2010 Amendment RCFC 54(d) has been amended by deleting item (1)(C)(v) (“Time Extensions”) its entirety. In addition, the 14-day time period formerly set forth in item (2)(D)(i) for filing a response to a motion for attorney’s fees has been restored to 28 days. in