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Key v. Chrysler Motors Corporation12/29/1998
y between Key's financial resources and those of Chrysler. New Mexico case law provides that the district court may use its discretion to deny or limit an award of costs to the prevailing party when the losing party lacks the resources to pay the cost award. See .
{11} Chrysler maintains that the district court abused its discretion because Key failed to present any evidence to establish the financial condition of the parties. We disagree. First, the court appropriately took note of the "gross disparity between the size and resources of the litigants." Indeed much of Chrysler's sizable cost bill seems to have been incurred based on Chrysler projecting the national impact of a potential award for Key in this case, which means that Key was being asked to pay costs beyond the normal anticipated scope of one lawsuit. Second, the court was concerned about Key's ability to pay such a large award. Although the evidence of ability to pay was somewhat ambiguous, counsel for Key characterized that evidence to the court, without objection from Chrysler, as showing Key's business value to be less then $200,000. Appellate counsel for Key made a similar representation to this Court which Chrysler did not specifically deny. It is up to the trial court to draw appropriate inferences from the evidence. Given that the amount of costs initially allowed by the district court were in excess of $260,000, we cannot say that the district court abused its discretion in reducing the award. See ) (inability to pay a proper factor to consider in denying costs); Boas Box Co. v. Proper Folding Box Corp., 55 F.R.D. 79, 81 (E.D.N.Y. 1971) (court may limit costs where large cost award could prove disastrous to small business). To the extent that Key maintains the financial disparity of the parties required the denial of all costs, we simply point out that Key failed to present any proof that it could not pay the $42,000 in costs ultimately awarded by the court.
{12} Key also suggests that any award of costs in this case will have a chilling effect on the willingness of similarly situated plaintiffs who may want to bring suit under the Act. Key maintains that the Act is remedial in nature and is intended to provide a cause of action for individual dealers against large automobile manufactures. But even if the Legislature may have intended to provide certain remedies and protections to individual car dealers who bring suit under the Act, we do not believe the Legislature demonstrated an intention to provide a blanket prohibition against cost awards to automobile manufactures when a lawsuit fails under the Act. As Chrysler points out, when the Legislature has wanted to restrict cost awards against unsuccessful plaintiffs who pursue statutory remedies, the Legislature has clearly said so. See NMSA 1978, § 57-12-10(C) (1987) (defendants who prevail in lawsuit brought under Unfair Practices Act may only recover costs if the lawsuit was groundless); NMSA 1978, § 57-13-6(B) (1987) (costs recoverable by defendant sued under Pyramid Promotional Schemes Act if plaintiff knew action was groundless); NMSA 1978, § 47-9-7 (1991) (court may award costs to defendant if it determines that plaintiff's action was frivolous); see also ) (where Legislature expressly provides certain remedies in some statutes, its failure to create same remedies in another statute shows by negative inference that Legislature did not intend to create such a remedy).
{13} Chrysler also argues that the district court should not have considered the chilling effect of large cost awards because no evidence was presented on the issue. Chrysler claims that Key's attorney merely speculated on the chilling effect of large cost awards during his argument to the distric
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