Almost any legal dispute involves financial expenses for a lawyer’s legal assistance, state fees, and expert examinations. Therefore, the law contains a logical and fair rule: the court awards the prevailing party the reimbursement of all incurred legal costs at the expense of the other party.
In this article, I will explain exactly what expenses can be recovered, how to do it, and what mistakes to avoid.
What does the law classify as legal costs?
According to the Civil Procedure Code of the Republic of Belarus (CPC), legal costs are divided into two main categories:
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State fee – a mandatory payment to the budget, paid when filing a statement of claim, an appeal, a cassation appeal, and certain other applications to the court.
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Costs associated with the consideration of the case. These are actual expenses incurred by a participant in the proceedings to have the case heard in court.
These costs include:
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payment for a lawyer’s assistance and legal services;
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expenses for experts, specialists, translators/interpreters, and attesting witnesses;
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expenses for tracing the defendant;
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travel and other expenses incurred in connection with appearing in court;
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compensation for lost working time;
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expenses related to the storage of physical evidence;
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expenses related to on-site inspections;
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other expenses deemed necessary by the court.
It should be noted that the court recognizes as costs only those expenses that were truly necessary.
How are costs distributed between the parties?
In accordance with Article 149 of the CPC, the court awards the party in whose favor the judicial decision was made the reimbursement of all incurred legal costs at the expense of the other party.
However, the following situations often arise:
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Partial satisfaction of the claim. In this case, amounts are awarded to the plaintiff in proportion to the size of the satisfied claims, and to the defendant – in proportion to the part of the claims that was denied to the plaintiff.
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Settlement agreement, conciliation agreement, or dispute resolution agreement following negotiations assisted by lawyers. In such cases, the parties determine themselves who bears the costs and how. If this issue is omitted in the agreement, the case costs mutually cancel each other out.
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Bad faith of the winning party. This is an interesting tool provided by Article 154 of the CPC. The court may impose legal costs on a party even if they won the case, provided they abused their rights: evaded giving explanations, gave knowingly false testimony, concealed evidence, or violated the deadline for submitting it. Furthermore, if the defendant evaded appearing in court or belatedly submitted objections or a counterclaim, the court may impose the costs on the defendant, even if their position was ultimately upheld.
When can lawyer’s fees be recovered from the losing party?
Generally speaking, the court obliges the losing participant to reimburse the winning party for their lawyer’s fees. However, the court has the right to award a smaller amount than was actually paid to the lawyer, based on two criteria: the complexity of the case and the time spent on its consideration.
It should be understood that such a reduction is generally the norm and does not indicate an overpayment. When a lawyer sets their fee, there are 9 legally established criteria involved, whereas the judge uses only 2 (the complexity of the case and the time spent on it).
To increase the chances of recovering the maximum amount of the fee paid to the lawyer, it is recommended to submit contracts, acts of acceptance, and payment documents to the court. In addition, I recommend attaching detailed reports on the work done by the representative in preparing for and participating in the court proceedings. This clearly demonstrates to the judge the volume of work performed by the lawyer.
How to properly recover your money?
The court will not recover your costs on its own initiative. To get your money back, you must be proactive and state your claims. This can be done in three ways:
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Request the recovery of legal costs during the trial – by stating the request directly in the text of the statement of claim, in the statement of defense, or as a separate motion at any court hearing, as well as after its conclusion.
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File an application for a supplementary decision after the main decision is rendered but before it enters into legal force.
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File an application for the recovery of legal costs with the court of first instance within three months from the moment the final judicial act concluding the case enters into legal force.
It is important not just to submit documents, but to present the court with evidence confirming the reality and necessity of each payment.
What if the losing party fails to reimburse the legal costs?
In this case, it is necessary to obtain a writ of execution, which is sent to the enforcement agency. Bailiffs are obliged to take measures for the compulsory collection of funds: identify the debtor’s bank accounts and property and levy execution upon them.
Conclusion
Recovering legal costs is the logical conclusion to a court victory, requiring meticulous and correct procedural execution. You need to think about how you will get your money back even before filing a claim. Therefore, always ensure the proper execution of payments and the correct documentary evidence of your expenses.