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Section 52-260 – Witness fees

May 11, 2021 | Civil Procedure, Connecticut

(a) The fees of a witness for attendance before any court, the General Assembly or any committee thereof, when summoned by the state, or before any legal authority, shall be fifty cents a day, and for travel to the place of trial, except as provided in section 54-152, shall be the same amount per mile as provided for state employees pursuant to section 5-141c. Whenever a garnishee is required to appear before any court, such garnishee shall receive the same fees as a witness in a civil action and be paid in the same manner. The clerk of the Superior Court, upon request, shall, on the day of attendance, pay the fee of any witness summoned by the state to appear before the court.
(b) When any regular or supernumerary police officer or any regular, volunteer or substitute firefighter of any town, city or borough is summoned to testify in any criminal proceeding pending before the Superior Court or the Department of Consumer Protection and the police officer or firefighter receives no compensation from the town, city or borough by which he is employed for the time so spent by him, the police officer or firefighter shall be allowed and paid one hundred dollars, together with the mileage allowed by law to witnesses in criminal cases, for each day he is required to attend the proceedings.
(c) When any regular or supernumerary police officer or any regular or substitute firefighter is summoned to testify in his capacity as a police officer or firefighter in any court in a civil action and the police officer or firefighter receives no compensation from the municipality by which he is employed for the time he is in attendance at court, there shall be allowed and paid to the police officer or firefighter a witness fee of one hundred dollars, together with the mileage allowed by law to witnesses in criminal cases, for each day he is required to attend court. If the police officer or firefighter testifies in any such proceeding or civil action on a vacation day or compensatory day off, he shall be paid the sum of one hundred dollars, together with the mileage allowed by law, notwithstanding the fact that he is receiving compensation for such day from the town, city or borough by which he is employed.
(d) The amounts paid under subsections (b) and (c) of this section shall be taxed as a part of the costs, and shall be in lieu of all other witness fees payable to such police officer or firefighter.
(e) When any person is confined in a community correctional center upon the allegation of the state’s attorney that he will be a material witness in a pending criminal proceeding, he shall receive, in addition to his legal fees as a witness, two dollars for each day that he is so confined.
(f) When any practitioner of the healing arts, as defined in section 20-1, dentist, registered nurse, advanced practice registered nurse or licensed practical nurse, as defined in section 20-87a, psychologist or real estate appraiser gives expert testimony in any action or proceeding, including by means of a deposition, the court shall determine a reasonable fee to be paid to such practitioner of the healing arts, dentist, registered nurse, advanced practice registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, psychologist or real estate appraiser and taxed as part of the costs in lieu of all other witness fees payable to such practitioner of the healing arts, dentist, registered nurse, advanced practice registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, psychologist or real estate appraiser.
(g) When any public accountant licensed under chapter 389 is subpoenaed by any party, other than the state, to testify in his capacity as a public accountant in any action or proceeding, the court shall determine a reasonable fee to be paid to the public accountant and such fee shall be paid by the party issuing such subpoena.
(h) The fees of any witness summoned by a party other than the state to testify in any action or proceeding shall be paid to the witness by such party on the day of attendance of such witness.

Conn. Gen. Stat. ยง 52-260

(1949 Rev., S. 3611; 1953, S. 1975d; 1957, P.A. 56; February, 1965, P.A. 574, S. 41; 1967, P.A. 273; 889; 1969, P.A. 297; 397; 720; P.A. 73-596; P.A. 74-183, S. 91, 291; P.A. 75-479, S. 3, 25; P.A. 76-436, S. 137, 681; P.A. 77-614, S. 165, 610; P.A. 78-289, S. 3; P.A. 80-190, S. 12; 80-482, S. 4, 170, 191, 339, 345, 348; P.A. 82-160, S. 131; 82-378; P.A. 83-251; P.A. 85-127; P.A. 86-182; P.A. 95-195, S. 82, 83; P.A. 00-45; P.A. 01-32, S. 1; 01-84, S. 4, 26; 01-186, S. 7; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146 (d); P.A. 04-169, S. 17; 04-189, S. 1; 04-232, S. 1; P.A. 05-45, S. 1; P.A. 10-178, S. 5.)

Amended by P.A. 10-0178, S. 5 of the February 2010 Regular Session, eff. 10/1/2010.

Cited. 188 Conn. 213; 219 Conn. 204; 236 C. 710; 239 Conn. 708. Cited. 37 Conn.App. 865; 45 CA 305. Legal experts are not included within enumeration of the categories of experts entitled to discretionary award of expert witness fees. 78 CA 760. Sec. 31-51m allows for costs, but does not expressly provide for expert witness fees; therefore, general cost provisions of Sec. 52-257 and this section apply, which do not mention nontestimonial costs; accordingly, nontestimonial work performed by plaintiff’s economics expert was not taxable as costs. 79 Conn.App. 501. Expert witness fees for roofing consulting firms are not enumerated under section and cannot be awarded as part of claim under Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act. 113 CA 509. Court improperly awarded expert witness fees for construction experts in claim under Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act. 121 CA 105. Agreement to pay witness more than legal fees will not ordinarily be enforced; exceptional cases considered. 26 CS 463. Statute, as amended, read in conjunction with Sec. 48-12, as amended, entitled property owner to reasonable appraisal fees in condemnation proceedings. 27 Conn.Supp. 288. Subsec. (f): Fee charged by an expert for time spent in preparation for his or her deposition treated as a taxable cost. 286 Conn. 234. Trial court may not award costs for nontestimonial work performed by expert witness. 289 C. 61. Nothing in legislative history indicates that legislature’s use of term “costs” in either Sec. 31-51m or 31-51q was intended to authorize court to award prevailing party the cost of an economist; further, because an economist is not a listed expert witness whose cost may be reimbursed under general provisions of Subsec., plaintiff’s expert economist’s testimonial fees cannot be reimbursed. 79 Conn.App. 501. Invoices submitted by defendant for expert witness fees were not sufficient on their own to establish that the costs stated therein were “reasonable”. 113 CA 339.