Kansas v. Colorado

Background

One state sued another over water taken from the Arkansas River under a long-standing compact. After years of proceedings and several remands, a Special Master awarded remedies and determined costs. Kansas sought to recover millions in expert witness fees, offering one calculation of about $9.2 million and another, assuming a $40-per-day limit, of about $163,000; the Special Master applied the $40 limit and the States agreed a costs settlement but Kansas filed an exception.

Reasoning

The core question was whether the federal $40-per-day witness-attendance rule applies when a case is filed directly in this Court. The Court said it need not resolve statutory or constitutional limits on Congress or this Court’s authority. Even assuming the Court could set its own fees, the Justices concluded it made sense to follow the same $40 rule used in lower federal courts. For reasons of uniformity and the limited departure from the usual rule that parties pay their own costs, the Court overruled Kansas’ exception and approved the Special Master’s approach.

Real world impact

The practical result is that parties in cases filed directly here cannot recover expert attendance fees above the federal $40-per-day cap under the reasoning adopted. That reduces potential awards for costly expert work and creates one consistent fee rule across federal courts. The decision did not decide definitively whether Congress intended the rule or whether the Constitution would bar Congress from regulating original cases, leaving those legal questions open.

Dissents or concurrances

Chief Justice Roberts, joined by Justice Souter, concurred separately to stress that the Court retains authority to set fees in original cases but agreed $40 was reasonable here.