Who pays the costs of litigation?

If I win a lawsuit, will the other party pay my attorney's fees? This is an oft-asked question. However, it cannot be answered with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no. This blog explains which cost of litigation must be paid by the other party.

The other party ordered to pay the legal costs

The person who loses legal proceedings must usually reimburse the costs incurred by the winning party. The rule of thumb here is that the court fees paid, attachment costs and bailiff's fees must be reimbursed in full. Also collection costs are usually eligible for reimbursement. However, attorney's fees incurred are subject to a flat rate, which is also referred to as the so-called liquidation rate. The liquidation rate is an amount that depends on (a) the number of procedural acts performed by the lawyer and (b) the importance of the case. As a result, attorney fees often do not have to be paid in full by the opposing party.

Exception: integral litigation costs in unlawful litigation

In some cases, the court makes an integral award of litigation costs. However, this does not happen very often. This is because there must be an exceptional situation in which the other party abuse of right By initiating or litigating proceedings wrongful acts. An order to pay actual litigation costs can occur, for example, if a claim is brought when the plaintiff actually knows very well that the claim does not exist or has been waived. That was the subject of this ruling by the court.

Exception: intellectual property cases

There is also an exception in cases involving copyrights or other intellectual property. In those cases, actual litigation costs are sometimes awarded as well. This is provided for in European regulations.

Avoid disappointments over litigation costs

It was discussed above that the awarded litigation costs often do not fully cover the actual costs. But, the court can also ‘offset’ the litigation costs. This means that neither party has to pay the other party's litigation costs. This is common in neighbor disputes, CoE Matters and proceedings between family members. But even if the opposing party is ordered to pay the litigation costs, that is no guarantee that those costs will actually be paid. If the other party has no recourse or bankrupt you will still miss the boat. Therefore, you can have your lawyer do a recovery investigation prior to the proceedings. You can also prejudgment attachment be laid to secure payment of your claim and court costs.