Senate Bill No. 9
(By Senator Mitchell)
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[Introduced January 9, 2002; 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.