stating that a guardian ad litem is an officer of the court whose role is to assist the court
How later courts described this case
- stating that a guardian ad litem is an officer of the court whose role is to assist the court
- noting, but not adopting, the Ninth Circuit’s position that private process servers’ fees are taxable costs under Section 1920(1)
- “It is clear in this Circuit that Rule 17(c) authorizes and mandates that district courts appoint a guardian ad litem in the situation where the interests of the [incompetent person’s] general representatives … may conflict with the interests of the person … who might otherwise be represented by such general representatives.” (citations omitted)
- acknowledging that Rule 54(d) and 28 U.S.C. § 2412 (a)(1) apply to FTCA disputes
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
*460 KING, Chief Judge,
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent. For the reasons cogently explained in Parts II.A-B and III of Judge Smith’s dissenting opinion, I would hold that guardian ad litem fees cannot be taxed as costs of court under the authority of Rule 54(d) because they are not enumerated in 28 U.S.C. § 1920 . See Crawford Fitting Co. v. J.T. Gibbons, Inc., 482 U.S. 437, 441-42 , 107 S.Ct. 2494 , 96 L.Ed.2d 385 (1987). As to whether Rule 17 provides a separate source of authority, it could well be that the power to appoint a guardian ad litem carries with it an inherent power to order payment: out of the award, out of some res before the court, from the parents, or possibly from another private party before the court; the bounds of the district court’s authority in such practical matters are difficult to mark. But, whatever may be true as regards the liability of a private litigant, Rule 17 does not (and arguably could not) provide the clear and explicit waiver of sovereign immunity that would permit an order directed at the government, which is the issue in today’s case. See, e.g., United States v. Nordic Village, Inc., 503 U.S. 30, 33-34 , 112 S.Ct. 1011 , 117 L.Ed.2d 181 (1992); cf. 28 U.S.C. § 2412 (a)(1).