Senate Bill No. 134
(By Senator Mitchell)
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[Introduced February 16, 2001; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article three, chapter
fifty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, relating to payment of court costs;
and providing that state agencies are exempt from payment of
court costs in advance.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article three, chapter fifty of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. COSTS, FINES AND RECORDS.
§50-3-1. Costs in civil actions.
The following costs shall be charged in magistrate courts in civil actions and shall be collected in advance, except that costs
due from state agencies shall not be collected in advance:
(a) For filing and trying any civil action and for all
services connected therewith, but excluding services regarding
enforcement of judgment, the following amounts dependent upon the
amount of damages sought in the complaint:
Where the action is for five hundred dollars or less
$25.00
Where the action is for more than five hundred dollars but
not more than one thousand dollars$30.00
Where the action is for more than one thousand dollars but
not more than two thousand dollars$35.00
Where the action is for more than two thousand dollars
$45.00
Where the action seeks relief other than money damages
$25.00
On and after the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-six, five dollars from each of the filing fees listed above
will be deposited in the court security fund created by the
provisions of section fourteen, article three, chapter fifty-one of this code.
(b) For each service regarding enforcement of a judgment
including execution, suggestion, garnishment and suggestee
execution$ 5.00
(c) For each bond filed in a case$ 1.00
(d) For taking deposition of witness for each hour or portion
thereof$ 1.00
(e) For taking and certifying acknowledgment of a deed or
other writing or taking oath upon an affidavit$ .50
(f) For mailing any matter required or provided by law to be
mailed by certified or registered mail with return receipt
$ 1.00
Costs incurred in a civil action shall be reflected in any
judgment rendered thereon. The provisions of section one, article
two, chapter fifty-nine of this code, relating to the payment of
costs by poor persons, shall be applicable to all costs in civil
actions.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to exempt state agencies
from the requirement that magistrate court costs in civil actions
be paid in advance.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.