Must a guilty defendant pay for court expenses and litigation fees according to Halacha?

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Must a guilty defendant pay for court expenses and litigation fees according to Halacha?

Fees involved in the initial Din Torah:[1] The losing party of a Din Torah is not required to reimburse the winning side for expenses involved. This applies even if he forced the winning party to come to court in a different city, [and there were traveling expenses involved]. If, however, the losing party refused to come to any Beis Din and the winning party had to pay expenses to enforce the losing party to appear, then the losing party is responsible to pay for all the expenses, [beginning from the time that he refused arbitration[2]].

 

If the losing party lost the case in Beis Din due to what was revealed to be a fictitious claim, can he be held liable to pay the winning parties expenses?

Some Poskim[3] rule that the losing party is only exempt from court expenses if his claim was accurate but simply did not find merit in court. If, however, his claim was discovered to be fictitious, and a blatant lie, then he is obligated to pay for court expenses of the winning party.

 

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[1] Michaber 14:5; Tur 14; Tosafus Sanhedrin 31b; Rosh Sanhedrin 3:40; Mordechai based on Gemara

[2] Rama ibid; Maharik 11; Nemukei Yosef ; Maryu; Teshuvas Harosh 108

[3] Yeshuos Yisrael 14:5; Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg; See Rama 14:5 that if the defendant said that he would come to court and then did not show up that he must pay for expenses

About The Author

Rabbi Yaakov Goldstein is a 6th generation descendent of the famous Chief Rabbi of Izhmir, Rav Yehoshua Avraham Krispin, who authored a number of Sefarim, and was a colleague of Rav Chaim Falagi, and father in-law of the Pesach Hadvir. He currently lives with his wife Shayna, and eleven children K”H, in Tzfas, Israel. Rabbi Goldstein received Semicha from Rabbi Schneur Zalman Labkowski of the Tomchei Temimim headquarters in 2005 and served as a chaplain in the Lotar/Kalatz and K9 unit of the IDF from years 2005-2008. He is also a certified Shochet, and has performed Hashgacha work in slaughterhouses. Rabbi Goldstein is the director of Shulchanaruchharav.com, the world’s leading web-based Halacha database, and is the director of the Home Study Semicha Program, a self-study web-based Semicha program. He is a prolific author of over 50 Sefarim studied by a wide range of readers throughout the world, which is used regularly in Semicha programs around the globe. He is a world renowned Posek, answering questions to a web-based market, and serves as a local Posek, Rav, and Lecturer, in the Tzemach Tzedek community Shul in Tzefas, Israel. His many classes can be heard both from his website, Vimeo and YouTube channel. Students can join live to classes given in the Tzemach Tzedek Shul, through the “בית חבד צפת Chabad Tsfat” YouTube channel.

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