§ 1903 — Costs; additional provisions

§ 1903. Costs; additional provisions.\n (a) Where the plaintiff recovers judgment either upon the defendant's\nfailure to answer or upon the defendant's answer and subsequent default\nat the trial, costs allowed to plaintiff shall be at the full amount\nprescribed in the foregoing sections of this article.\n (b) Where judgment is recovered upon motion before trial, costs shall\nbe allowed in one-half of the amounts prescribed in the foregoing\nsections of this article, except that no costs shall be awarded upon\ngranting partial judgment where the court shall find that the other\nparty, before the action was commenced, unconditionally tendered the\npart found to be due.\n (c) Where a party recovers judgment upon motion against a person for\ndamages for his disobedience to a court order or subpoena or for a\nstatutory penalty for the same, costs shall be allowed in one-half of\nthe amounts prescribed in the foregoing sections of this article.\n (d) Plaintiff shall be allowed as costs for each necessary defendant\nserved with the summons by a person other than an enforcement officer,\none dollar and fifty cents, and for each necessary tenant served with\nthe notice of petition by a person other than an enforcement officer,\none dollar and fifty cents, and if there is a default in appearance by\nthe defendant or tenant, the sum of one dollar and fifty cents for\nsecuring the affidavit that the defendant or tenant is not in military\nservice, required by the statutes of the United States.\n (e) Upon settlement after service of summons and before trial,\nplaintiff shall be entitled to costs in one-half of the amount\nprescribed in the foregoing sections of this article, determined by the\nsettlement.\n (f) Upon settlement during or after trial and before entry of\njudgment, plaintiff shall be entitled to costs in the amount prescribed\nin the foregoing sections of this article, determined by the settlement.\n (g) Where the defendant discontinues his counterclaim before trial,\nplaintiff shall be entitled to costs in one-half of the amount\nprescribed in the foregoing sections of this article, and where the\ndefendant discontinues his counterclaim during trial plaintiff shall be\nentitled to costs in the amount prescribed in said sections.\n (h) Where the defendant recovers judgment on the plaintiff's failure\nto appear, or upon a dismissal of the complaint for want of prosecution,\ncosts to be awarded to the defendant shall be at the full amount\nprescribed in the foregoing sections of this article.\n (i) Where no provision for costs is otherwise made, the court, in its\ndiscretion, may award to a party a sum not exceeding ten dollars.\n (j) Where judgment is entered pursuant to the filing of a confession\nof judgment, costs shall be allowed to the successful party in one-half\nof the amount prescribed in the foregoing sections of this article.\n (k) When two or more plaintiffs join in one complaint, the plaintiffs\njointly shall be entitled to recover only one bill of costs against the\ndefendant in the amount prescribed in the foregoing sections of this\narticle, said bill of costs to be equal to that of the plaintiff whose\nbill of cost would be greatest; where the defendant is successful in\nsuch action, a single bill of costs shall be awarded to him against all\nco-plaintiffs jointly, in the amounts prescribed in the foregoing\nsections of this article, based upon the relief prayed for by that\nplaintiff whose bill of costs, if he recovered such relief, would be\ngreatest.\n (l) Where, in an action against two or more defendants, the plaintiff\nis entitled to costs against one or more, but not against all of them,\nnone of the defendants is entitled to costs, of course. In such a case,\ncosts may be awarded in the discretion of the court to any defendant\nagainst whom the plaintiff is not entitled to costs, where he did not\nunite in an answer, and was not united in interest, with a defendant\nagainst whom the plaintiff is entitled to costs.\n (m) Costs in a summary proceeding to recover possession of real\nproperty shall consist of the sums specified in subdivision (d) of this\nsection plus, as a disbursement, if paid, the fee provided for issuance\nof a notice of petition by subparagraph j of paragraph one of\nsubdivision (a) of section nineteen hundred eleven of this article. Such\ncosts shall be exclusive in such proceeding and shall constitute the sum\nto be awarded as costs by the judgment pursuant to section seven hundred\nforty-seven of the real property actions and proceedings law, except\ninsofar as additional costs may be imposed pursuant to subdivision three\nof said section.\n