Legal Definitions - expensae litis

Expensae litis refers to the various costs and expenses that a party incurs while participating in a legal dispute or lawsuit. These expenditures can encompass a wide range of items, such as court filing fees, fees for serving legal documents, costs associated with depositions, expert witness fees, and attorney fees. Often, if a party is successful in their legal action, the court may order the losing party to reimburse the winner for some or all of these accumulated costs.

• Imagine a small technology company, InnovateTech, sues a larger software vendor for failing to deliver a promised product on time, causing significant financial losses. After a lengthy trial, the court rules in favor of InnovateTech. The judge not only awards damages for the financial losses but also orders the software vendor to pay for InnovateTech's court filing fees, the cost of hiring an expert witness to testify about the software's impact, and a portion of their legal team's fees. These reimbursed expenses constitute the expensae litis.

• Consider a situation where a pedestrian, Ms. Chen, is severely injured due to a negligent driver. She files a personal injury lawsuit against the driver. The case proceeds through discovery, requiring depositions and medical expert reports. Ultimately, a jury finds the driver liable and awards Ms. Chen compensation for her injuries. In addition to the damages, the court orders the driver to cover Ms. Chen's court costs, the fees for her medical experts who testified, and some of her attorney's fees. These specific costs that the driver must reimburse Ms. Chen for are the expensae litis.