Delaware Business Litigation Report

Superior Court CCLD Declines to Award Costs for Special Master and Mediator, and Awards only Simple Interest on Judgment in Accord with Superior Court Default Rule

LCT Capital, LLC v. NGL Energy Partners LP, C.A. No. N15C-08-109 JJC CCLD (Del. Super. Ct. June 20, 2023)
Under Superior Court Rule 54, costs are allowed as a matter of course to the prevailing party. In this post-trial opinion, the Court denied costs associated with a special master fee and declined to include mediator fees but allowed costs relating to courtroom technology. The Court reasoned that the technology costs should be awarded because they were incidental and necessary to the trial. The Court found, however, that the fees related to the special master should not be awarded because those fees were similar to attorneys' fees. The Court also reasoned that the mediator's fees should not be awarded without a showing of abuse because mediator fees are typically split by the parties.

The Court also examined whether to grant pre-judgment and post-judgment interest. In regard to post-judgment interest, the Court declined to compound interest, which would have resulted if post-judgment interest were calculated based on the combined total amount of the judgment and pre-judgment interest. The Court held that simple interest in accord with the Superior Court's default rule should be applied, reasoning that generally, only the Court of Chancery has the discretion not to adhere to the default rule and instead award compound interest.

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