Short answer. Yes, potentially. Section 4 lets you ask the court to order the party who falsely denied under oath to pay the reasonable expenses — including attorney's fees — you incurred proving what they denied, unless the court finds the denial had good reasons or that the matter had no substantial importance.
What the law says
If a party after being served with a request under Rule 26 to admit the genuineness of any document or the truth of any matter of fact, serves a sworn denial thereof and if the party requesting the admissions thereafter proves the genuineness of such document or the truth of any such matter of fact, he or she may apply to the court for an order requiring the other party to pay him or her the reasonable expenses incurred in making such proof, including [reasonable] attorney's fees. Unless the court finds that there were good reasons for the denial or that admissions sought were of no substantial importance, such order shall be issued.
Rule 29, Section 4 — Expenses on refusal to admit. Read the full provision →
What must happen first
The other party must have served a sworn denial in response to a Rule 26 request to admit, and the requesting party must then go on to actually prove the genuineness of the document or the truth of the matter, whether at trial or otherwise. Only after that proof is actually made does the right to seek reimbursement under Section 4 arise; a denial alone, without a later successful proof, does not by itself trigger this remedy.
The presumption favors awarding expenses
The section states the order 'shall be issued' once the proof is made, unless the court finds the denial was made for good reasons, or that the matter sought to be admitted was of no substantial importance — placing the burden on the denying party to justify the denial. This default in favor of awarding expenses reflects the underlying purpose of the request-to-admit mechanism, which is to narrow down what actually needs to be proven at trial.
What can be recovered
Reasonable expenses incurred in making the proof, including reasonable attorney's fees, directly tied to the cost of proving what should have been admitted. This can cover the cost of securing witnesses, documents, or other evidence specifically needed to establish the fact or document that the other party denied under oath, though expenses unrelated to that specific proof would not qualify for reimbursement under this section.
Why this matters
It discourages parties from denying facts or documents they cannot genuinely contest, since an unjustified denial can end up costing them the very expenses the other side incurs disproving it. Without this deterrent, a party might be tempted to deny anything and everything as a delaying tactic, forcing the other side to prove even facts that were never genuinely in dispute in the first place.