City of San Antonio, Texas v. Hotels.com, L.P.
Issues
May district courts deny or reduce appellate costs deemed “taxable” under the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure?
This case asks the Supreme Court to decide whether district courts have the discretion to adjust “taxable” appellate costs under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 39(e). In 2006, a district court entered judgment for Petitioner City of San Antonio and taxed appellate costs against Respondent Hotels.com. In 2017, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated the district court judgment and ordered the City of San Antonio to pay appellate costs to Hotels.com. The City of San Antonio argues that the permissive language of “taxable” in Rule 39(e) and the bifurcated structure of the subdivisions of Rule 39 justify district courts’ discretionary authority to adjust appellate costs after the appellate court has determined which parties are entitled to costs. Hotels.com argues that the mandatory language of Rule 39(e) justifies the Fifth Circuit’s decision and that appellate courts are better equipped to determine the question of appellate costs. The outcome of this case has implications for the allocation of appellate costs between parties in litigation where appellate bonds, penalties, and interest can reach millions of dollars, as well as the efficiency of court proceedings concerning the determination of appellate costs.
Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties
Whether, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit alone has held, district courts “lack[] discretion to deny or reduce” appellate costs deemed “taxable” in district court under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 39(e).
In 2006, the City of San Antonio filed a class action lawsuit against online travel companies (“OTCs”), including Hotels.com, Hotwire, Orbitz, and Travelocity, for failure to pay municipal hotel occupancy taxes in full. City of San Antonio v.
Edited by
Additional Resources
- W. Scott Bailey, City of Antonio on the Hook for Millions from 2006 Hotel Tax Lawsuit, San Antonio Business Journal (May 11, 2020).
- Patrick Hammon, High Court Hotels.com Case Could Alter Appellate Strategy, Law360 (Apr. 1, 2021).