Prevailing Party v. Party Recovering Judgment: Which Party is Entitled to be Reimbursed for Costs

Fla. Stat. § 57.041 controls who is entitled to tax costs after judgment which is a different standard than an entitlement to attorney’s fees. Pursuant to Fla. Stat. § 57.041, the “prevailing party” standard does not apply. See Sherman v. Sherman, 279 So.3d 188, 193 (Fla. 4th DCA 2019). Instead, the standard for determining who is entitled to tax costs is “the party recovering judgment.” Id at 189. The language of Fla. Stat. § 57.041 is unambiguous and should be interpreted as written. Id at 191. Therefore, every party who recovers judgment in a legal proceeding is entitled to recovery of costs. See DiGiacomo v. Kogan & DiSalvo, P.A., 317 So.3d 1163, 1164 (Fla. 4th DCA 2021). The question for a trial court is who is “the party recovering judgment.”

It is easy when there is a one count complaint, but when there are multiple counts with different parties prevailing, it can make it difficult to determine. The Courts have found that if often comes down to which party prevails as to a money judgment. See Porath and Porath v. Nugent,4D2023-2468 (Fla. 4th DCA 2025). If the plaintiff wins even a nominal amount of money, he could be entitled to tax costs to the defendant. However, if the defendant prevails and obtains a zero-dollar judgment, the defendant could tax his costs to the plaintiff. Id. However, when there are lawsuits with multiple counts, some seeking damages and some seeking other kinds of relief, it can be unclear who is entitled to reimbursement of their costs. The determining factor in who is entitled to costs under these circumstances is what was the primary relief the plaintiff was seeking and did plaintiff obtain that relief in cases where plaintiff has lost on counts for money damages, but not those for other types of relief. If the plaintiff obtains the relief he is seeking, he is likely entitled to his costs. See Hendry Tractor Company v. Fernandez, 432 So.2d 1315, 1315 (Fla. 1983).