The Place of Negligence and Bad Faith in Fee-Shifting in Frivolous Claim; A Comparative Study of Iranian and American Law

In order to defend a frivolous claim, the defendant may suffer from numerous fees such as litigation and expertise costs, attorney's fees, etc. One of the important questions is whether the demand for such fees caused by a frivolous claim is subject to proving the plaintiff's negligence or bad faith. In response, the Iranian Law situation is not very clear; Because according to Article 109 of the Civil Procedure Code, the security for costs order for frivolous claims, which is considered one of the ways to fee-shifting, is not subject to proving the plaintiff's negligence or bad faith. On the other hand, according to Article 515 of this Code, demanding fees from the plaintiff is generally subject to proving his bad faith. Along with the study of American Federal Law, resolving this ambiguity and conflict is the subject of this article. In this article, after explaining the concept of a frivolous claim, it is concluded that identifying the plaintiff's negligence (not his bad faith) is necessary for demanding fees caused by frivolous claims. In order to identify the plaintiff's negligence, some points must be considered: firstly, the negligence is identified according to the circumstances of the lawsuit. Secondly, the negligence of the pro se litigant or unrepresented party is measured by comparing him with the reasonable one and the negligence of the lawyer is measured by comparing him with the reasonable lawyer. Thirdly, as a rule, the pro se litigant or unrepresented party may not be considered negligent for filing a claim without a legal basis.