If you ask another party in a lawsuit to admit something is true and they refuse, you might have to prove it in court. If you do prove it, you can ask the court to make the other party cover the costs you incurred to prove it, including lawyer fees. However, the court won't make them pay if your request was invalidated, the issue was minor, they had a good reason to think they'd win, or another valid reason for their refusal existed.
(a)CA Civil Procedure Code § 2033.420(a) If a party fails to admit the genuineness of any document or the truth of any matter when requested to do so under this chapter, and if the party requesting that admission thereafter proves the genuineness of that document or the truth of that matter, the party requesting the admission may move the court for an order requiring the party to whom the request was directed to pay the reasonable expenses incurred in making that proof, including reasonable attorney’s fees.
(b)CA Civil Procedure Code § 2033.420(b) The court shall make this order unless it finds any of the following:
(1)CA Civil Procedure Code § 2033.420(b)(1) An objection to the request was sustained or a response to it was waived under Section 2033.290.
(2)CA Civil Procedure Code § 2033.420(b)(2) The admission sought was of no substantial importance.
(3)CA Civil Procedure Code § 2033.420(b)(3) The party failing to make the admission had reasonable ground to believe that that party would prevail on the matter.
(4)CA Civil Procedure Code § 2033.420(b)(4) There was other good reason for the failure to admit.
