House kills bill to make losers pay legal fees

AUGUSTA – The Maine House killed a bill Tuesday that sought to make losers in civil court cases pay the winning side’s legal fees. The bill, LD 34, had been debated earlier in the Senate, which also voted the measure down.

Maine is not the only state to consider such measures, which are aimed at discouraging excessive litigation and its costs.

Oklahoma lawmakers last year rejected a bill to create a “loser pays” system, which would also require litigants whose lawsuits are ruled frivolous to pay defendants’ attorneys’ fees.

Montana lawmakers considered a similar measure this session, but it would apply only in water rights cases.

Last year, a state law in Alaska intended to make environmental groups pay legal fees in unsuccessful court challenges against the state was struck down by a state Superior Court judge. The law had been enacted in 2003.