Wisconsin Statutes

Wis. Stat. § 814.03 (2026)

Costs to defendant

✓ current as of July 2026

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814.03814.03 Costs to defendant.

814.03(1)(1) If the plaintiff is not entitled to costs under s. 814.01 (1) or (3), the defendant shall be allowed costs to be computed on the basis of the demands of the complaint.

814.03(2)(2) Where there are several defendants who are not united in interest and who make separate defenses by separate answers, if the plaintiff recovers against some but not all of such defendants, the court may award costs to any defendant who has judgment in the defendant’s favor.

814.03(3)(3) Notwithstanding subs. (1) and (2), where the department of health services or a county is joined as a plaintiff pursuant to ss. 49.89 (2) and 803.03 (2) (a) because of the provision of benefits under subch. IV of ch. 49, the department of health services or the county shall not be liable for costs to any prevailing defendant.

814.03 HistoryHistory: Sup. Ct. Order, 67 Wis. 2d 585, 761, 780 (1975); Stats. 1975 s. 814.03; 1987 a. 345; 1993 a. 486, 496; 1997 a. 27; 1999 a. 9; 2007 a. 20 s. 9121 (6) (a).

814.03 AnnotationThis section contemplates the awarding of costs only to successful parties. DeGroff v. Schmude, 71 Wis. 2d 554, 238 N.W.2d 730 (1976).

814.03 AnnotationA prevailing defendant is entitled to costs from all plaintiffs including subrogated plaintiffs who elected not to participate in the trial. Sampson v. Logue, 184 Wis. 2d 20, 515 N.W.2d 917 (Ct. App. 1994).

814.03 AnnotationThis section is mandatory, not discretionary. Taylor v. St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin, 229 Wis. 2d 688, 599 N.W.2d 924 (Ct. App. 1999), 98-3334.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 31 cases (7 in the last 5 years), 1985–2025 · leading case: Aul v. Golden Rule Ins., 2007 WI App 165 (Wis. Ct. App. 2007).

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Aul v. Golden Rule Ins., 2007 WI App 165 (Wis. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 17× “Wisconsin Stat. § 814.03(2) provides: Where there are several defendants who are not united in interest and who make separate defenses by separate answers, if the plaintiff recovers against some but not all of such defendants, the court may award costs to any defendant who has…”

Sampson v. Logue, 515 N.W.2d 917 (Wis. Ct. App. 1994). · cites it 23× “," and to tax costs against the County, pursuant to § 814.03, STATS. [3] Despite having received notice of the motion hearing, the County failed to appear.”

Stuart v. Weisflog's Showroom Gallery, Inc., 2006 WI App 109 (Wis. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 11× “Weisflog contends that because the jury "exonerated" him from personal responsibility, he is a prevailing defendant entitled to costs under Wis. Stat. § 814.03 . 11 Section 814.03 provides, in relevant part: 814.”

Taylor v. St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin, 599 N.W.2d 924 (Wis. Ct. App. 1999). · cites it 13× “With regard to the various cross-appeals, we hold that the trial court erred by denying statutory costs pursuant to § 814.03, Stats. We further hold that the imposition of sanctions against Taylor for frivolous appeal under § 809.”

Gorman v. Wausau Ins. Companies, 499 N.W.2d 245 (Wis. Ct. App. 1993). · cites it 5× “01, awarding damages to Mari-Jo and denying it costs against Mari- *325 Jo pursuant to sec. 814.03(1), Stats., The Gormans cross-appeal, arguing that the trial court erred by failing to award the remainder of the jury award, $79,500, to Mari-Jo.”

Wausau Med. Ctr. v. Asplund, 514 N.W.2d 34 (Wis. Ct. App. 1994). · cites it 3× “01(2)(d)3 precludes the trial court from requiring the payment of these fees in response to Asplund's request for costs pursuant to § 814.03, STATS. Section 814.03 reads: "If the plaintiff is not entitled to costs under s.”

State, Dep't of Indus., Labor & Human Relations v. Coatings, Inc., 376 N.W.2d 834 (Wis. 1985). · cites it 3× “Relying on sec. 814.03(1), Stats., the court of appeals affirmed the award of costs.”

Calaway v. Brown Cnty., 553 N.W.2d 809 (Wis. Ct. App. 1996). · cites it 2× “The County argues that it should receive costs under § 814.03(1), Stats., which provides: "If the Plaintiff is not entitled to costs under s.”

Gorton v. Hostak, Henzl & Bichler, S.C., 577 N.W.2d 617 (Wis. 1998). “§ 814.03 allows multiple defendants to recover individual costs only "where there are several defendants who are not united in interest and who make separate defenses by separate answers.”

Gustafson v. Physicians Ins. Co. of Wisconsin, Inc., 588 N.W.2d 363 (Wis. Ct. App. 1998). · cites it 2× “See § 814.03, Stats. PIC could recover costs against both Gustafson and MNIC, the subrogated insurer.”

Jocelyn Riley v. Am. Fam. Mut. Ins. Co., 881 F.2d 368 (7th Cir. 1989). “Otherwise the defendant would apparently be entitled to costs under Wis.Stat. § 814.03. 2 . The stipulation provided: Notwithstanding the dismissal with prejudice as provided in paragraph 1, plaintiff shall not be prevented under any preclusion doctrine, including res judicata…”

Borntreger v. Smith, 2012 WI App 35 (Wis. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 2× “More specifically, Auto-Owners asserts that, pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 814.03 , 4 it was entitled to costs against the Smiths and their farming entity.”

Show all 31 citing cases →

— Wis. Stat. § 814.03(1) — 17 cases

Sampson v. Logue, 515 N.W.2d 917 (Wis. Ct. App. 1994). “," and to tax costs against the County, pursuant to § 814.03, STATS. [3] Despite having received notice of the motion hearing, the County failed to appear.”

Aul v. Golden Rule Ins., 2007 WI App 165 (Wis. Ct. App. 2007). “Wisconsin Stat. § 814.03(2) provides: Where there are several defendants who are not united in interest and who make separate defenses by separate answers, if the plaintiff recovers against some but not all of such defendants, the court may award costs to any defendant who has…”

Gorman v. Wausau Ins. Companies, 499 N.W.2d 245 (Wis. Ct. App. 1993). “01, awarding damages to Mari-Jo and denying it costs against Mari- *325 Jo pursuant to sec. 814.03(1), Stats., The Gormans cross-appeal, arguing that the trial court erred by failing to award the remainder of the jury award, $79,500, to Mari-Jo.”

Taylor v. St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin, 599 N.W.2d 924 (Wis. Ct. App. 1999). “With regard to the various cross-appeals, we hold that the trial court erred by denying statutory costs pursuant to § 814.03, Stats. We further hold that the imposition of sanctions against Taylor for frivolous appeal under § 809.”

State, Dep't of Indus., Labor & Human Relations v. Coatings, Inc., 376 N.W.2d 834 (Wis. 1985). “Relying on sec. 814.03(1), Stats., the court of appeals affirmed the award of costs.”

— Wis. Stat. § 814.03(2) — 4 cases

Stuart v. Weisflog's Showroom Gallery, Inc., 2006 WI App 109 (Wis. Ct. App. 2006). “Weisflog contends that because the jury "exonerated" him from personal responsibility, he is a prevailing defendant entitled to costs under Wis. Stat. § 814.03 . 11 Section 814.03 provides, in relevant part: 814.”

Chalk v. Trans Power Mfg., Inc., 451 N.W.2d 770 (Wis. Ct. App. 1989).

J&J Enter. of De Pere, LLP v. Cincinnati Ins. Co. (Wis. Ct. App. 2023).

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.