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91_SB1689
LRB9111807ACtm
1 AN ACT to amend the Code of Civil Procedure.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by
5 adding Article V-A as follows:
6 (735 ILCS 5/Art. V-A heading new)
7 Article V-A
8 COSTS
9 (735 ILCS 5/5A-101 new)
10 Sec. 5A-101. What constitutes costs. A party awarded
11 costs pursuant to this Article is entitled to be reimbursed
12 for the following:
13 (1) all filing, docketing, and other fees and
14 charges paid to the clerk of the court;
15 (2) reasonable fees for service of process or other
16 mandate or proceeding;
17 (3) statutory fees paid to witnesses, including
18 mileage, for each attendance at a deposition, trial, or
19 other proceeding;
20 (4) reasonable expenses of discovery and evidence
21 deposition transcripts, if any part of the deposition is
22 used at trial;
23 (5) reasonable expenses incurred for publication
24 where publication is required by law;
25 (6) fees provided by law for a certified copy of a
26 paper, map, or other document recorded or filed in any
27 public office reasonably obtained for use in the case;
28 (7) reasonable compensation for court appointed
29 experts and interpreters;
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1 (8) reasonable premiums or expenses paid on all
2 bonds or other security; and
3 (9) such other expenses as are taxable by provision
4 of law or rule of court.
5 (735 ILCS 5/5A-102 new)
6 Sec. 5A-102. Prevailing party. Except as otherwise
7 provided by law, the prevailing party or parties in
8 litigation shall be entitled to an award of costs. It shall
9 be in the discretion of the court to determine who is the
10 prevailing party or parties.
11 (735 ILCS 5/5A-103 new)
12 Sec. 5A-103. Costs on dismissal. When an action is
13 voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff or is dismissed for
14 want of prosecution, the defendant shall recover costs
15 against the plaintiff.
16 (735 ILCS 5/5A-104 new)
17 Sec. 5A-104. Bill of costs. Within 30 days after
18 judgment or other final dispositive order, the party or
19 parties entitled to costs shall prepare and file with the
20 clerk and serve upon all persons entitled to notice a bill of
21 costs. Any objections to the bill shall be filed within 14
22 days after service of the bill of costs. If objections are
23 not filed within the 14-day period, the costs shall be
24 allowed as set forth in the bill. If objections are filed,
25 the court shall promptly hear and decide them. In either
26 event, the costs allowed shall be included in the judgment or
27 other final dispositive order and shall be recoverable in the
28 same manner as a money judgment. In no event shall any
29 proceedings to determine costs affect the finality of a
30 judgment or other final dispositive order. The court may
31 modify the time periods contained in this Section.
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1 (735 ILCS 5/5A-105 new)
2 Sec. 5A-105. Costs after tender. A person who is guilty
3 of a trespass or injury or owes another liquidated damages or
4 demands arising out of a contract may at any time, before or
5 after suit is brought, tender what he or she shall conceive
6 as sufficient amends for the injury done or to pay the
7 liquidated damages or demands, and if suit has been
8 commenced, also the costs of suit up to the time of making
9 the tender. If it appears that the sum tendered was
10 sufficient amends for the injury done or to pay the damages
11 and, if suit has been commenced, was also sufficient to pay
12 the costs of suit up to the time of making the tender, the
13 plaintiff shall not be allowed to recover any costs incurred
14 after the tender, but shall be liable to the defendant for
15 the defendant's costs incurred after that time.
16 (735 ILCS 5/5A-106 new)
17 Sec. 5A-106. Leave to sue or defend as an indigent
18 person.
19 (a) As used in this Section:
20 "Fees, costs, and charges" means payments imposed on a
21 party in connection with the prosecution or defense of a
22 civil action, including but not limited to filing fees;
23 appearance fees; fees for service of process and other papers
24 served either within or outside this State, including service
25 by publication pursuant to Section 2-206 of this Code and
26 publication of necessary legal notices; motion fees; jury
27 demand fees; charges for participation in, or attendance at,
28 any mandatory process or procedure including, but not limited
29 to, conciliation, mediation, arbitration, counseling,
30 evaluation, "Children First", "Focus on Children", or similar
31 programs; fees for supplementary proceedings; charges for
32 translation services; guardian ad litem fees; charges for
33 certified copies of court documents; and all other processes
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1 and procedures deemed by the court to be necessary to
2 commence, prosecute, defend, or enforce relief in a civil
3 action.
4 "Indigent person" means any person who meets one or more
5 of the following criteria:
6 (1) He or she is receiving assistance under one or
7 more of the following public benefits programs:
8 Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Aid to the Aged,
9 Blind and Disabled (AABD), Temporary Assistance for Needy
10 Families (TANF), Food Stamps, General Assistance, State
11 Transitional Assistance, or State Children and Family
12 Assistance.
13 (2) His or her available income is 125% or less of
14 the current poverty income guidelines as established by
15 the United States Department of Health and Human
16 Services, unless the person's assets that are not exempt
17 under Part 9 or 10 of Article XII of this Code are of
18 such a nature and value that the court determines that
19 the applicant is able to pay the fees, costs, and
20 charges.
21 (3) He or she is, in the discretion of the court,
22 unable to proceed in an action without payment of fees,
23 costs, and charges, and his or her payment of those fees,
24 costs, and charges would result in substantial hardship
25 to the person or his or her family.
26 (b) On the application of any person, before or after
27 the commencement of an action, a court, on finding that the
28 applicant is an indigent person, shall grant the applicant
29 leave to sue or defend the action without payment of the
30 fees, costs, and charges of the action.
31 (c) An application for leave to sue or defend an action
32 as an indigent person shall be in writing and supported by
33 the affidavit of the applicant or, if the applicant is a
34 minor or an incompetent adult, by the affidavit of another
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1 person having knowledge of the facts. The contents of the
2 affidavit shall be established by Supreme Court rule. The
3 court shall provide, through the office of the clerk of the
4 court, simplified forms consistent with the requirements of
5 this Section and applicable Supreme Court rules to any person
6 seeking to sue or defend an action who indicates an inability
7 to pay the fees, costs, and charges of the action. The
8 application and supporting affidavit may be incorporated into
9 one simplified form. The clerk of the court shall post in a
10 conspicuous place in the courthouse a notice, no smaller than
11 8.5 by 11 inches, using no smaller than 30-point typeface,
12 and printed in English and in Spanish, advising the public
13 that they may ask the court for permission to sue or defend a
14 civil action without payment of fees, costs, and charges.
15 The notice shall be substantially as follows: "If you are
16 unable to pay the fees, costs, and charges of an action you
17 may ask the court to allow you to proceed without paying
18 them. Ask the clerk of the court for forms.".
19 (d) The court shall rule on applications under this
20 Section in a timely manner based on information contained in
21 the application, unless the court, in its discretion,
22 requires the applicant to personally appear to explain or
23 clarify information contained in the application. If the
24 court finds that the applicant is an indigent person, the
25 court shall enter an order permitting the applicant to sue or
26 defend without payment of fees, costs, or charges. If the
27 application is denied, the court shall enter an order to that
28 effect stating the specific reasons for the denial. The
29 clerk of the court shall promptly mail or deliver a copy of
30 the order to the applicant.
31 (e) The clerk of the court shall not refuse to accept
32 and file a complaint, appearance, or other paper presented by
33 the applicant if accompanied by an application to sue or
34 defend as an indigent person and those papers shall be
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1 considered filed on the date the application is presented.
2 If the application is denied, the order shall state a date
3 certain by which the necessary fees, costs, and charges must
4 be paid. The court, for good cause shown, may allow an
5 applicant whose application is denied to defer payment of
6 fees, costs, and charges, make installment payments, or make
7 payment upon reasonable terms and conditions stated in the
8 order. The court may dismiss the claims or defenses of any
9 party failing to pay the fees, costs, or charges within the
10 time and in the manner ordered by the court. A determination
11 concerning an application to sue or defend as an indigent
12 person shall not be construed as a ruling on the merits.
13 (f) The court may order an indigent person to pay all or
14 a portion of the fees, costs, or charges waived pursuant to
15 this Section out of moneys recovered by the indigent person
16 pursuant to a judgment or settlement resulting from the civil
17 action. However, nothing in this Section shall be construed
18 to limit the authority of a court to order another party to
19 the action to pay the fees, costs, or charges of the action.
20 (g) A court, in its discretion, may appoint counsel to
21 represent an indigent person, and that counsel shall perform
22 his or her duties without fees, charges, or reward.
23 (h) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to affect
24 the right of a party to sue or defend an action as an
25 indigent person without the payment of fees, costs, or
26 charges, or the right of a party to court-appointed counsel,
27 as authorized by any other provision of law or by the rules
28 of the Illinois Supreme Court.
29 (i) The provisions of this Section are severable under
30 Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
31 (735 ILCS 5/5A-107 new)
32 Sec. 5A-107. Representation by civil legal services
33 provider.
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1 (a) As used in this Section:
2 "Civil legal services" means legal services in
3 non-criminal matters provided without charge to indigent
4 persons who have been found eligible under financial
5 eligibility guidelines established by the civil legal
6 services provider.
7 "Civil legal services provider" means a not-for-profit
8 corporation that (i) employs one or more attorneys who are
9 licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois and who
10 directly provide civil legal services or (ii) is established
11 for the purpose of providing civil legal services by an
12 organized panel of pro bono attorneys.
13 "Eligible client" means an indigent person who has been
14 found eligible for civil legal services by a civil legal
15 services provider.
16 "Indigent person" means a person whose income is 125% or
17 less of the current federal poverty income guidelines or who
18 is otherwise eligible to receive civil legal services under
19 the federal Legal Services Corporation Act of 1974.
20 (b) When a party is represented in a civil action by a
21 civil legal services provider, all fees and costs relating to
22 filing, appearing, transcripts on appeal, and service of
23 process shall be waived without the necessity of a motion for
24 that purpose, and the case shall be given an index number or
25 other appropriate filing number, provided that (i) a
26 determination has been made by a civil legal services
27 provider that the party is indigent and (ii) an attorney's
28 certification that a determination has been made that the
29 party is indigent is filed with the clerk of the court along
30 with the complaint, the appearance, or any other paper that
31 would otherwise require payment of a fee.
32 (735 ILCS 5/5A-108 new)
33 Sec. 5A-108. Lien of officer. Where any person has been
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1 permitted by any court to commence and prosecute or to defend
2 an action as an indigent person without the payment of costs
3 and expenses, the clerk of the court and the sheriff shall
4 each have a lien upon every claim, including every claim for
5 unliquidated damages, asserted in the action by the party who
6 has thus been permitted to sue or defend as an indigent
7 person, and upon the proceeds thereof, for the amount of all
8 fees and charges, becoming due the officer under the
9 provisions of Section 5A-101 of this Code, and remaining
10 unpaid. The order of court permitting the party to proceed as
11 an indigent person shall be sufficient notice of the
12 existence of such lien to all other parties in the case, as
13 well as to any insurer or other third party in any way liable
14 for payment of any such claim or portion thereof, who shall
15 have been called upon to defend against the same or otherwise
16 notified of such claim.
17 On petition filed in the court in which the action has
18 been commenced, the court shall, on not less than 5 days
19 notice to all parties concerned, adjudicate the rights of the
20 petitioning officer or officers and enforce the lien or liens
21 by all appropriate means.
22 (735 ILCS 5/Art. V rep.)
23 Section 10. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by
24 repealing Article V.