Miller v. Union Pacific Railroad Co

Miller v. Union Pacific Railroad Co. (2007) 147 Cal.App.4th 451, involved a prevailing plaintiff, whose offers to compromise pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 998 were rejected by Union Pacific, and who thereafter prevailed at trial and obtained a recovery greater than his settlement offer. Consequently, our analysis is couched in terms of whether federal law authorizes an award of expert witness fees to "a prevailing plaintiff" in a FELA action. (Miller, supra, 147 Cal.App.4th at p. 459.) The Court answered that question in the negative, noting that FELA has been amended many times, and Congress has never included a provision concerning recovery of expert witness fees. "Had Congress intended to enact legislation permitting a prevailing plaintiff in a FELA action to recover expert witness fees, it could have done so. Against this backdrop, we refuse to impute to Congress an intent to make available expert witness fees to a prevailing plaintiff under the FELA." (Miller, supra, 147 Cal.App.4th at p. 459.) Accordingly, we concluded the trial court had properly refused to award expert witness fees to prevailing plaintiff Miller. (Ibid.)