Senate Study Bill 1008 - Introduced SENATE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY BILL BY CHAIRPERSON ZAUN) A BILL FOR An Act relating to awarding costs and reasonable attorney 1 fees to a prevailing party in a civil action and including 2 effective date and applicability provisions. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 1571XC (3) 87 jh/rj

S.F. _____ Section 1. NEW SECTION . 625.30 Costs —— attorney fees —— 1 prevailing parties. 2 1. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, in a civil 3 action the court shall award costs and reasonable attorney fees 4 to a prevailing party. 5 2. This section does not apply to actions by or against the 6 state, other governmental entities, or public officials acting 7 in their official capacity or under color of law. 8 3. For purposes of this section, “prevailing party” means 9 a party with a net monetary recovery, a defendant in whose 10 favor a dismissal is entered, a defendant where neither 11 plaintiff nor defendant obtains any relief, or a defendant as 12 against a plaintiff who does not recover any relief against 13 the defendant. If a party recovers other than monetary relief 14 and in situations other than as specified, the court shall 15 determine if a party is a prevailing party for purposes of this 16 section. 17 Sec. 2. LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS. The supreme court shall 18 submit legislative proposals, no later than November 27, 2017, 19 to the senate and house of representatives standing committees 20 on judiciary to amend the Iowa Code to resolve inconsistencies 21 and conflicts and to remove ambiguities in order to fully 22 implement this Act. 23 Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect July 1, 2018, 24 except for the section of this Act that requires the supreme 25 court to submit legislative proposals to the senate and house 26 of representatives standing committees on judiciary regarding 27 this Act. 28 Sec. 4. APPLICABILITY. This Act applies to causes of action 29 accruing on or after July 1, 2018. 30 EXPLANATION 31 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 32 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 33 This bill relates to the award of costs and reasonable 34 attorney fees to a prevailing party in civil actions. 35 -1- LSB 1571XC (3) 87 jh/rj 1/ 2

S.F. _____ Under current law, subject to certain exceptions, each party 1 to a civil lawsuit is responsible for its own attorney fees. 2 The bill provides that a court shall award costs and reasonable 3 attorney fees to a prevailing party. The bill defines 4 prevailing party as the party with a net monetary recovery, a 5 defendant in whose favor a dismissal is entered, a defendant 6 where neither plaintiff nor defendant obtains any relief, or 7 a defendant as against a plaintiff who does not recover any 8 relief against the defendant. If a party recovers other than 9 monetary relief and in situations other than as specified, the 10 court shall determine if a party is a prevailing party. The 11 bill does not apply to actions by or against the state, other 12 governmental entities, or public officials acting in their 13 official capacity or under color of law. 14 The bill requires the supreme court to submit legislative 15 proposals, no later than November 27, 2017, to the senate and 16 house of representatives standing committees on judiciary to 17 amend the Iowa Code to resolve inconsistencies and conflicts 18 and to remove ambiguities in order to fully implement the bill. 19 The bill takes effect July 1, 2018, except for the 20 requirement that the supreme court submit legislative proposals 21 to the senate and house of representatives standing committees 22 on judiciary. 23 The bill applies to causes of action accruing on or after 24 July 1, 2018. 25 -2- LSB 1571XC (3) 87 jh/rj 2/ 2