Senate File 330 - Introduced SENATE FILE 330 BY DICKEY 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 1859XS (3) 91 cm/jh

S.F. 330 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, in due course, to the senate 19 and house of representatives standing committees on judiciary 20 to amend the Iowa Code to delete redundancies, resolve 21 inconsistencies and conflicts, and remove any ambiguities 22 caused by this Act. 23 Sec. 3. APPLICABILITY. This Act applies to causes of action 24 filed on or after July 1, 2025. 25 EXPLANATION 26 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 27 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 28 This bill relates to the award of costs and reasonable 29 attorney fees to a prevailing party in civil actions. 30 Under current law, subject to certain exceptions, each party 31 to a civil lawsuit is responsible for its own attorney fees. 32 The bill provides that a court shall award costs and reasonable 33 attorney fees to a prevailing party. The bill defines 34 prevailing party as the party with a net monetary recovery, a 35 -1- LSB 1859XS (3) 91 cm/jh 1/ 2

S.F. 330 defendant in whose favor a dismissal is entered, a defendant 1 where neither plaintiff nor defendant obtains any relief, or 2 a defendant as against a plaintiff who does not recover any 3 relief against the defendant. If a party recovers other than 4 monetary relief and in situations other than as specified, the 5 court shall determine if a party is a prevailing party. The 6 bill does not apply to actions by or against the state, other 7 governmental entities, or public officials acting in their 8 official capacity or under color of law. 9 The bill requires the supreme court to submit legislative 10 proposals, in due course, to the senate and house of 11 representatives standing committees on judiciary to amend the 12 Iowa Code to delete redundancies, resolve inconsistencies and 13 conflicts, and remove any ambiguities caused by the bill. 14 The bill applies to causes of action filed on or after July 15 1, 2025. 16 -2- LSB 1859XS (3) 91 cm/jh 2/ 2