What is "bill of costs"

Cost \Cost\, n. [OF. cost, F. co[^u]t. See Cost, v. t. ]

1. The amount paid, charged, or engaged to be paid, for anything bought or taken in barter; charge; expense; hence, whatever, as labor, self-denial, suffering, etc., is requisite to secure benefit.

   One day shall crown the alliance on 't so please you, Here at my house, and at my proper cost.
   --Shak.

   At less cost of life than is often expended in a skirmish, [Charles V.] saved Europe from invasion.
   --Prescott.

2. Loss of any kind; detriment; pain; suffering.

   I know thy trains, Though dearly to my cost, thy gins and toils.
   --Milton.

3. pl. (Law) Expenses incurred in litigation.

   Note: Costs in actions or suits are either between attorney and client, being what are payable in every case to the attorney or counsel by his client whether he ultimately succeed or not, or between party and party, being those which the law gives, or the court in its discretion decrees, to the prevailing, against the losing, party.

   Bill of costs. See under Bill.

   Cost free, without outlay or expense. ``Her duties being to talk French, and her privileges to live cost free and to gather scraps of knowledge.''
   --Thackeray. [1913 Webster] ||

Bill \Bill\, n. [OE. bill, bille, fr. LL. billa (or OF. bille), for L. bulla anything rounded, LL., seal, stamp, letter, edict, roll; cf. F. bille a ball, prob. fr. Ger.; cf. MHG. bickel, D. bikkel, dice. Cf. Bull papal edict, Billet a paper.]

1. (Law) A declaration made in writing, stating some wrong the complainant has suffered from the defendant, or a fault committed by some person against a law.

2. A writing binding the signer or signers to pay a certain sum at a future day or on demand, with or without interest, as may be stated in the document. [Eng.]

   Note: In the United States, it is usually called a note, a note of hand, or a promissory note.

3. A form or draft of a law, presented to a legislature for enactment; a proposed or projected law.

4. A paper, written or printed, and posted up or given away, to advertise something, as a lecture, a play, or the sale of goods; a placard; a poster; a handbill.

   She put up the bill in her parlor window.
   --Dickens.

5. An account of goods sold, services rendered, or work done, with the price or charge; a statement of a creditor's claim, in gross or by items; as, a grocer's bill.

6. Any paper, containing a statement of particulars; as, a bill of charges or expenditures; a weekly bill of mortality; a bill of fare, etc. Bill of adventure. See under Adventure. Bill of costs, a statement of the items which form the total amount of the costs of a party to a suit or action. Bill of credit.

   1. Within the constitution of the United States, a paper issued by a State, on the mere faith and credit of the State, and designed to circulate as money. No State shall ``emit bills of credit.''
      --U. S. Const.
      --Peters.
      --Wharton.
      --Bouvier

   2. Among merchants, a letter sent by an agent or other person to a merchant, desiring him to give credit to the bearer for goods or money.

      Bill of divorce, in the Jewish law, a writing given by the husband to the wife, by which the marriage relation was dissolved.
      --Jer. iii. 8.

      Bill of entry, a written account of goods entered at the customhouse, whether imported or intended for exportation.

      Bill of exceptions. See under Exception.

      Bill of exchange (Com.), a written order or request from one person or house to another, desiring the latter to pay to some person designated a certain sum of money therein generally is, and, to be negotiable, must be, made payable to order or to bearer. So also the order generally expresses a specified time of payment, and that it is drawn for value. The person who draws the bill is called the drawer, the person on whom it is drawn is, before acceptance, called the drawee, -- after acceptance, the acceptor; the person to whom the money is directed to be paid is called the payee. The person making the order may himself be the payee. The bill itself is frequently called a draft. See Exchange.
      --Chitty.

      Bill of fare, a written or printed enumeration of the dishes served at a public table, or of the dishes (with prices annexed) which may be ordered at a restaurant, etc.

      Bill of health, a certificate from the proper authorities as to the state of health of a ship's company at the time of her leaving port.

      Bill of indictment, a written accusation lawfully presented to a grand jury. If the jury consider the evidence sufficient to support the accusation, they indorse it ``A true bill,'' otherwise they write upon it ``Not a true bill,'' or ``Not found,'' or ``Ignoramus'', or ``Ignored.''

      Bill of lading, a written account of goods shipped by any person, signed by the agent of the owner of the vessel, or by its master, acknowledging the receipt of the goods, and promising to deliver them safe at the place directed, dangers of the sea excepted. It is usual for the master to sign two, three, or four copies of the bill; one of which he keeps in possession, one is kept by the shipper, and one is sent to the consignee of the goods.

      Bill of mortality, an official statement of the number of deaths in a place or district within a given time; also, a district required to be covered by such statement; as, a place within the bills of mortality of London.

      Bill of pains and penalties, a special act of a legislature which inflicts a punishment less than death upon persons supposed to be guilty of treason or felony, without any conviction in the ordinary course of judicial proceedings.
      --Bouvier.
      --Wharton.

      Bill of parcels, an account given by the seller to the buyer of the several articles purchased, with the price of each.

      Bill of particulars (Law), a detailed statement of the items of a plaintiff's demand in an action, or of the defendant's set-off.

      Bill of rights, a summary of rights and privileges claimed by a people. Such was the declaration presented by the Lords and Commons of England to the Prince and Princess of Orange in 1688, and enacted in Parliament after they became king and queen. In America, a bill or declaration of rights is prefixed to most of the constitutions of the several States.

      Bill of sale, a formal instrument for the conveyance or transfer of goods and chattels.

      Bill of sight, a form of entry at the customhouse, by which goods, respecting which the importer is not possessed of full information, may be provisionally landed for examination.

      Bill of store, a license granted at the customhouse to merchants, to carry such stores and provisions as are necessary for a voyage, custom free.
      --Wharton.

      Bills payable (pl.), the outstanding unpaid notes or acceptances made and issued by an individual or firm.

      Bills receivable (pl.), the unpaid promissory notes or acceptances held by an individual or firm.
      --McElrath.

      A true bill, a bill of indictment sanctioned by a grand jury.

n. A statement of the items which form the total amount of the costs of a party to a suit or action.

A bill of costs is an itemized list of expenses a prevailing party in a lawsuit or action needs to pay for services procured from a lawyer. It can have varying levels of detail, and should describe the nature of the work done by the lawyer for the client, and any other expenses incurred. Recoverable costs vary by jurisdiction, but often include copying fees, filing fees, travel expenses, court reporter fees, and electronic legal research costs.(example checklist of expenses recoverable in a bill of costs)

In some cases, particularly those in which attorney's fees are part of the relief demanded by the plaintiff, a bill of costs may be submitted to the court, in order to determine how much of the prevailing party's costs the losing party must pay.

Category:Legal costs Category:Legal documents