- court costs
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The fees charged for the use of a court, including the initial filing fee, fees for serving the summons, complaint, and other court papers, fees to pay a court reporter to transcribe depositions (pretrial interviews of witnesses) and in-court testimony, and, if a jury is involved, to pay the daily stipend of jurors. Often costs to photocopy court papers and exhibits are also included. Court costs must be paid by both the plaintiff and the defendant as the case progresses. In many types of cases, however, the losing party is held responsible for both parties' costs.Category: Accidents & InjuriesCategory: Representing Yourself in CourtCategory: Small Claims CourtCategory: Small Claims Court & Lawsuits
Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. Gerald N. Hill, Kathleen Thompson Hill. 2009.
- court costs
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The expenses of prosecuting or defending a lawsuit, other than the attorney fees. An amount of money may be awarded to the successful party (and may be recoverable from the losing party) as reimbursement for court costs.
Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.
- court costs
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n.fees for expenses that the courts pass on to attorneys, who then pass them on to their clients or to the losing party. Court costs usually include: filing fees, charges for serving summons and subpenas, court reporter charges for depositions (which can be very expensive), court transcripts and copying papers and exhibits. The prevailing party in a lawsuit is usually awarded court costs. Attorneys' fees can be included as court costs only if there is a statute providing for attorneys' fee awards in a particular type of case, or if the case involved a contract which had an attorneys' fee clause (commonly found in promissory notes, mortgages and deeds of trust). If a losing party does not agree with the claimed court costs (included in a filed cost bill) he/she/it may move (ask) the judge to "tax costs" (meaning reduce or disallow the cost), resulting in a hearing at which the court determines which costs to allow and in what amount (how much).
Law dictionary. EdwART. 2013.