If judgment is entered in favor of the plaintiff, the plaintiff shall recover damages and costs. If judgment is entered in favor of the defendant, the defendant shall recover costs.
14-105.Judgment - Costs.
Article XIV. Mandamus · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceSets out who recovers costs and damages when a mandamus case ends: the plaintiff recovers damages and costs on a win, the defendant recovers costs on a win.
Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/14-105
Plain-English Summary
This section closes out a mandamus case financially. If the plaintiff prevails, the judgment includes both damages and costs — damages compensate for the harm caused by the defendant's failure to perform the duty, on top of the order compelling that performance.
If the defendant prevails instead, the outcome is more limited: the defendant recovers costs, but the section says nothing about damages running the other way. That asymmetry reflects mandamus's purpose. It's a tool to force performance of a public duty, so a losing plaintiff bears the ordinary cost of an unsuccessful suit, while a losing defendant who wrongly withheld a required act pays for the harm that caused.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a winning mandamus plaintiff recover?
Both damages and costs, under Section 14-105.
What does a winning mandamus defendant recover?
Costs. The section does not provide for damages in the defendant's favor.
Why can a mandamus plaintiff recover damages but a defendant cannot?
Mandamus targets a defendant's failure to perform a required duty, so damages compensate for the harm that failure caused; a defendant who successfully resists the action has suffered no comparable harm from having been sued.
Are damages awarded separately from the order compelling performance?
Section 14-105 addresses the damages-and-costs award; the underlying order directing the defendant to act is the core mandamus relief itself.
Does this section apply if the case is dismissed rather than tried?
The section speaks to judgment in favor of either the plaintiff or the defendant, so it governs the costs-and-damages consequence of however that judgment comes out.
Amendment History
(Source: P.A. 82-280.)
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Illinois Compiled Statutes, published by the
Illinois Compiled Statutes, Illinois General Assembly / Legislative Reference Bureau. Last verified July 20, 2026.
· Official source
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