Bill Text: IA SSB1128 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the awarding of costs and reasonable attorney fees regarding certain motions to dismiss to a prevailing party in a civil action and including effective date and applicability provisions.
Spectrum: Committee Bill
Status: (N/A - Dead) 2017-02-22 - Subcommittee Meeting: 02/28/2017 1:30PM RM 24 [SSB1128 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2017-SSB1128-Introduced.html
Senate
Study
Bill
1128
-
Introduced
SENATE
FILE
_____
BY
(PROPOSED
COMMITTEE
ON
JUDICIARY
BILL
BY
CHAIRPERSON
ZAUN)
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
the
awarding
of
costs
and
reasonable
1
attorney
fees
regarding
certain
motions
to
dismiss
to
a
2
prevailing
party
in
a
civil
action
and
including
effective
3
date
and
applicability
provisions.
4
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
5
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_____
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,
if
the
court
grants
or
denies
a
motion
to
dismiss
for
4
failure
to
state
a
claim
upon
which
any
relief
may
be
granted,
5
the
court
shall
award
costs
and
reasonable
attorney
fees
to
the
6
party
prevailing
on
the
motion
if
that
party
also
prevails
in
7
the
action
on
the
issue.
8
2.
If
the
court
partially
grants
the
motion
to
dismiss
or
if
9
each
party
partially
prevails
in
the
action,
the
court
shall
10
determine
the
extent
to
which
each
party
is
entitled
to
costs
11
and
reasonable
attorney
fees
under
this
section
and
award
costs
12
and
attorney
fees
accordingly.
13
3.
This
section
does
not
apply
to
actions
by
or
against
the
14
state,
other
governmental
entities,
or
public
officials
acting
15
in
their
official
capacity
or
under
color
of
law.
16
Sec.
2.
LEGISLATIVE
PROPOSALS.
The
supreme
court
shall
17
submit
legislative
proposals,
no
later
than
November
27,
2017,
18
to
the
senate
and
house
of
representatives
standing
committees
19
on
judiciary
to
amend
the
Iowa
Code
to
resolve
inconsistencies
20
and
conflicts
and
to
remove
ambiguities
in
order
to
fully
21
implement
this
Act.
22
Sec.
3.
EFFECTIVE
DATE.
This
Act
takes
effect
July
1,
2018,
23
except
for
the
section
of
this
Act
that
requires
the
supreme
24
court
to
submit
legislative
proposals
to
the
senate
and
house
25
of
representatives
standing
committees
on
judiciary
regarding
26
this
Act.
27
Sec.
4.
APPLICABILITY.
This
Act
applies
to
causes
of
action
28
accruing
on
or
after
July
1,
2018.
29
EXPLANATION
30
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
31
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
32
This
bill
relates
to
the
award
of
costs
and
reasonable
33
attorney
fees
regarding
certain
motions
to
dismiss
to
a
34
prevailing
party
in
civil
actions.
35
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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
if
the
court
grants
or
denies
a
motion
3
to
dismiss
for
failure
to
state
a
claim
upon
which
any
relief
4
may
be
granted,
the
court
shall
award
costs
and
reasonable
5
attorney
fees
to
the
party
prevailing
on
the
motion
if
that
6
party
also
prevails
in
the
action
on
the
issue.
If
the
court
7
partially
grants
the
motion
or
if
each
party
partially
prevails
8
in
the
action,
the
bill
requires
the
court
to
determine
the
9
extent
to
which
each
party
is
entitled
to
costs
and
reasonable
10
attorney
fees
and
to
award
the
costs
and
attorney
fees
11
accordingly.
12
The
bill
requires
the
supreme
court
to
submit
legislative
13
proposals,
no
later
than
November
27,
2017,
to
the
senate
and
14
house
of
representatives
standing
committees
on
judiciary
to
15
amend
the
Iowa
Code
to
resolve
inconsistencies
and
conflicts
16
and
to
remove
ambiguities
in
order
to
fully
implement
the
bill.
17
The
bill
takes
effect
July
1,
2018,
except
for
the
18
requirement
that
the
supreme
court
submit
legislative
proposals
19
to
the
senate
and
house
of
representatives
standing
committees
20
on
judiciary.
21
The
bill
applies
to
causes
of
action
accruing
on
or
after
22
July
1,
2018.
23
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