25 Costs

The winning party ordinarily should be awarded all or a substantial portion of its reasonable costs. ‘Costs’ include court filing fees, fees paid to officials such as court stenographers, expenses such as expert-witness fees, and lawyers' fees.

Exceptionally, the court may withhold or limit costs to the winning party when there is clear justification for doing so. The court may limit the award to a proportion that reflects expenditures for matters in genuine dispute and award costs against a winning party who has raised unnecessary issues or been otherwise unreasonably disputatious. The court in making cost decisions may take account of any party's procedural misconduct in the proceeding.