Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 677.10 (2026)

Costs

✓ current as of July 2026
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If the plaintiff fails to obtain judgment for more than was offered by the defendant, the plaintiff cannot recover costs, but shall pay the defendant’s costs from the time of the offer. [R60, §3405; C73, §2900; C97, §3819; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §12681; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §677.10]

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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 17 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1959–2025 · leading case: Coker v. Abell-Howe Co., 491 N.W.2d 143 (Iowa 1992).
Coker v. Abell-Howe Co., 491 N.W.2d 143 (Iowa 1992). · cites it 6× “Iowa Code section 677.10 states, “if the plaintiff fails to obtain judgment for more than was offered by the defendant, the plaintiff cannot recover costs, but shall pay defendant’s costs from the time of the offer.”
Weaver Constr. Co. v. Heitland, 348 N.W.2d 230 (Iowa 1984). · cites it 10× “Because plaintiffs judgment did not exceed the defendant’s offer, section 677.10 became controlling on the issue of what costs each party could recover.”
Hughes v. Burlington N. R.R., 545 N.W.2d 318 (Iowa 1996). · cites it 2× “See Iowa Code § 677.10 , .13. An offer to confess judgment may be desirable in cases involving minors, where the parties want the matter memorialized by a judgment, or when full payment is not made immediately and the plaintiff needs the protection of a judgment.”
Nichols v. Sukaro Kennels, 555 N.W.2d 689 (Iowa 1996). · cites it 2× “Iowa Code section 677.10 provides that, “[i]f the plaintiff fails to obtain judgment for more than was offered by the defendant, the plaintiff cannot recover costs, but shall pay the defendant’s costs from the time of the offer.”
Harris v. Olson, 558 N.W.2d 408 (Iowa 1997). · cites it 2× “See Iowa Code § 677.10 (plaintiff who fails to obtain judgment for more than offered by confession cannot recover costs and “shall pay the defendant’s costs from the time of the offer”).”
Brockhouse v. State, 449 N.W.2d 380 (Iowa 1989). · cites it 4× “Iowa Code § 677.10 (1987); Sheer Constr. Inc.”
Ncjc, Inc. v. Wmg, L.C. (Iowa 2021). · cites it 72× “We begin with the text of the statute, which provides, “If the plaintiff fails to obtain judgment for more than was offered by the defendant, the plaintiff cannot recover costs, but shall pay the defendant’s costs from the time of the offer.”
Ncjc, Inc. v. Wmg, L.C. (Iowa 2021). · cites it 72× “We begin with the text of the statute, which provides, “If the plaintiff fails to obtain judgment for more than was offered by the defendant, the plaintiff cannot recover costs, but shall pay the defendant’s costs from the time of the offer.”
Drew v. Lionberger, 508 N.W.2d 83 (Iowa Ct. App. 1993). · cites it 6× “See Iowa Code section 677.10 (1991); Weaver Const. Co. v.”
Tilton v. Iowa Power & Light Co., 94 N.W.2d 782 (Iowa 1959). · cites it 2× “” And section 677.10 provides: “If the plaintiff fails to obtain judgment for more than was offered by the defendant, he cannot recover costs, but shall pay the defendant’s costs from the time of the offer.”
Ncjc, Inc. v. Wmg, L.C. (Iowa Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 21× “§ 677.10. We find the meaning of statutes in the “words chosen by the legislature.”
Robyn Mengwasser v. Joseph Comito & Capital City Fruit Co. (Iowa Ct. App. 2021). · cites it 6× “On November 10, 2019, the court issued an order denying Mengwasser’s motion for new trial and granting in part Comito’s application for taxation of costs pursuant to section 677.10. This appeal followed. II.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.