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Deere retirees now face court costs of lost case
Posted Online: Nov. 06, 2009, 7:56 pm
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By Anthony Watt, awatt@qconline.com
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The price of losing could be a steep one for a group of Deere & Co. retirees. The retirees - about 5,000 former salaried employees - are Medicare eligible. On Jan. 1, 2008, Deere cut their company health benefits that supplemented the government insurance, prompting the lawsuit by retirees attempting to get the benefits restored. They lost. And in his ruling, federal judge Charles Wolle stated the $190,000 cost of the proceedings were to be assessed to the retirees. According to federal court documents, the bulk of the court costs, about $155,000, is for copies of documents used in the trial. Another $34,000 was spent on the court reporter, with the remainder in various other fees and costs. Bill Gabbard, one of the retirees involved in the suit, said most of them did not know what to expect because they had never been involved in a class action lawsuit before. Their lawyers are preparing a response to the cost documents to be presented in a Nov. 23 upcoming hearing, Mr. Gabbard said. The costs, he said, would be on top of what the group already owes its lawyers. Mr. Gabbard declined to say how much that was. He added that the retirees group has not decided whether to appeal Judge Wolle's ruling and will rely on the expertise of their lawyers. 
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