What does Qualified One-Way Cost Shifting (QOCS) primarily protect claimants from?

• A. It protects claimants from paying the defendant's costs if the claim fails, with limited exceptions.
• B. It guarantees the claimant will recover all their costs from the defendant.
• C. It eliminates the defendant's liability for costs entirely.
• D. It allows the court to waive costs if the case is publicly funded.

Answer: (A)

QOCS is a protection mechanism for claimants that provides cost shielding in civil claims. It means that if a claimant’s case fails, they are not exposed to having to pay the defendant’s costs. That protection is "one-way"—it helps the claimant avoid costly bills from the defendant, while costs consequences for the claimant are not imposed in the usual way. The protection isn’t absolute, because there are limited exceptions in which costs can still be paid by the claimant, most notably where the claimant has acted with fundamental dishonesty or where the claim has been struck out for abuse of process, among other narrow circumstances. So, the heart of QOCS is preventing the claimant from bearing the defendant’s costs if the claim fails, rather than guaranteeing full cost recovery or eliminating costs altogether in every case. It also isn’t related to waivers for publicly funded cases.