If a company sues another company and loses, can the winner recover the fees from the suer for initiating?

Question

A big company sues a small, family owned company, for what it believes to be breach of contract, and loses. Can the Small company sue the big company back for the legal fees it had to spend in defending itself? Additionally, can the small company sue for punitive damages for loss of time spent at work? The case would be in Illinois and involves two for-profit, non-government businesses.

Answer 1

Very often when a company (or individual) loses a suit, the court will specify that it pay the defendant's legal costs.

Anyone can sue, but will not necessarily win. A competent lawyer should be consulted on how likely it is that the suit will prevail and how many additional legal costs would be incurred.