system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5 how someone can LOSE money overall from winning a court case?
gpt
There is a concern that if the loser always had to pay 100% of the legal costs (for both sides) that it would discourage people from taking legitimate legal action to protect themselves. In other words, the (potential) plaintiff may be too afraid of losing and ending up with a huge amount of debt so he/she may not take the risk and go to court despite the legitimacy of his/her claims and despite how solid his/her case is.