Recovering Litigation Costs in Illinois State Court – What About Westlaw Research?

In a small dollar case, a plaintiff’s recoverable “costs” typically include filing fees and service fees. See Household Int’l v. Liberty Mutual, 195 Ill. 2d 578 (2001).  This amount is usually negligible (usually less than $500) and not worth fighting over. However, where a fee-shifting provision in a contract provides for prevailing party “litigation expenses” or “costs of …