Party that Recovers Judgment Entitled to Costs
Florida Statute s. 57.041 provides in material part, “The party recovering judgment shall recover all his or her legal costs and charges which shall be included in the judgment.” Recently, Florida’s Sixth District Court of Appeals determined whether the recovery of costs should be analyzed under the same prevailing party analysis as attorney’s fees. Most Florida districts find that it does not although one district (Florida’s Fifth District) finds that it should. The Sixth District aligned itself with the majority of Florida districts holding that the party that recovers a judgment is entitled to their costs. H&S Investment Group of Central Florida, LLC v. Spiker, 51 Fla.L.Weekly D688a (Fla. 6th DCA 2026) (“Because H&S prevailed on two of its three claims against the Spikers and recovered $121,166.66 in damages, and the Spikers recovered nothing on their counterclaim, H&S is the party that recovered judgment. The trial court therefore had no discretion to deny H&S’s motion for costs.”).
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