Read the full stored bill text
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
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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
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2
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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
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