Civil actions: pro per litigant costs.

Existing law provides that a prevailing party is entitled as a matter of right to recover costs in any action or proceeding, and specifies those items allowable as costs. This bill would require, in civil proceedings in which a pro per litigant is the prevailing party, that the court, upon motion, award reasonable compensation to the prevailing party for the time and effort required to litigate the matter. The bill would require the court to base the reasonable compensation on the standard rate of compensation for a paralegal assistant in the local market and any economic hardship suffered by the prevailing party in litigating the matter.