§ 9-15-8.Liability for costs of witnesses of adverse party

Witness fees can add up fast, and this section keeps them from being used to pad a cost bill. No party is liable for the costs of the adverse party’s witnesses unless the witness was subpoenaed, sworn, and examined at the trial of the case. A witness who is listed but never called, or who never takes the stand because the case settles or is tried on stipulated facts, generally doesn’t generate cost exposure under this rule — with one exception: a plaintiff who voluntarily dismisses the case before trial can still be charged for the adverse party’s witnesses, even though trial testimony never happened.

The section also caps how many witnesses on the same point can be charged to the losing side. No party is liable for the costs of more than two witnesses called to prove the same fact, unless the court certifies that the character of the question at issue required a greater number. That certification requirement puts the decision in the court’s hands rather than leaving it to however many witnesses a party chose to call.