legal wager

In the Roman litigation system, while the Legis Actiones procedure was in force during the early Republic, both parties had to lay down a wager at the preliminary hearing, probably to discourage frivolous litigation. In some cases, if the party lost, the wager went to the other party, to compensate him for his inconvenience, rather than to the court to cover costs. There were three different types of legis actiones, and the wager differed in each one.