Source: https://www.courts.maine.gov/rules_adminorders/adminorders/JB-05-26.html
Timestamp: 2020-02-23 17:55:27
Document Index: 616649137

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 17', '§ 17', '§ 1763', '§ 8601', '§ 11002', '§ 11002', '§ 4455', '§ 3261', '§ 2401', '§ 3', '§ 18', '§ 11002', '§ 17', '§ 1763', '§ 17', '§ 17', '§ 17', '§ 1801', '§ 4055', '§ 18', '§ 3', '§ 18', '§ 3', '§ 17']

Home → Court Rules & Administrative Orders → Administrative Orders → JB-05-26 (A. 9-19)
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER JB-05-26 (A. 10-19)
Revised Court Fees Schedule and Document Management Procedures JB-05-26 (A. 10-19)
This Order amends JB-05-26 as amended by A. 9-19, signed on July 25, 2019, and effective on September 19, 2019.
In order to promote uniformity of practice, costs, and procedures, the following fees schedule and the following procedures for copying, attestation, and document management are adopted for all Courts in the Maine State Court System. As used in this Schedule, “Clerk” means the Clerk of the Law Court, the Executive Clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court, a Clerk of the Superior Court, a Clerk of the District Court, the Manager of the Maine Judicial Branch Violations Bureau, or a member of such a person’s staff who has been delegated the authority to sign documents on behalf of that person. This Order replaces any previous Fees Schedule, Administrative Order, or Fees and Document Management Procedures.
Beginning on July 1, 2018, certain fees listed in this section are increased to include a $15 or $25 amount that will be deposited into an Other Special Revenue account to fund the Court Management System. See 4 M.R.S. § 17‑A(3); P.L. 2017, ch. 284. The fees that include the $15 increase are marked *, and the fees that include the $25 increase are marked **. Also, effective July 1, 2018, a $15 surcharge on any fine imposed in a civil or criminal matter or in an administrative enforcement or licensing action will be assessed and deposited into an Other Special Revenue account to fund the Court Management System. See 4 M.R.S. § 17‑A(3); P.L. 2017, ch. 284.
A. Filing and Similar Fees and Surcharges on Fines
Filing a Notice of Appeal to the Supreme Judicial Court [1] $175.00**
Filing a Motion to Reconsider in the Supreme Judicial Court (M.R. App. P. 14(b)) $125.00**
Appearance Pro Hac Vice $700.00 [2]
Filing of a General Civil or Real Estate Action or Filing Third-Party Complaint $175.00**
Filing/Registering a Foreign Judgment on a General Civil action $175.00**
Filing a Pre-Judgment Motion to decide a case on the merits pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), 12(c), 55(e) or 56 $225.00**
Filing a Motion for Post-Judgment Relief pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 120 in an action under Title 19 or 19-A, including a Stipulated Amendment to a Judgment but excluding a Motion or Stipulation to Modify or Enforce a Child Support Order [3]or any Family Matter Pre-Judgment or Post-Judgment Motion for Contempt [4]$80.00
Filing/Registering a Foreign Judgment on a family matter or Protection from Abuse Action or Entry of a Protection from Harassment Action with an allegation of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault No Fee
Filing/Registering a Foreign Judgment for Post-Judgment Relief pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 120 in an action under Title 19 or 19-A, including a Stipulated Amendment to a Judgment but excluding a Motion or Stipulation to Modify or
Enforce a Child Support Order, or a Motion to Enforce a child custody order pursuant to 19-A M.R.S. § 1763 et seq. [5] $60.00
Filing a Motion pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 55(b)(2), 59, 60(b), 62, or 66, except for a Motion to Modify or Enforce a Child Support Order, or a Motion for Contempt Alleging the Failure to Pay Child Support [6]$60.00
Appearance Pro Hac Vice $700.00 [7]
Filing an action under 14 M.R.S. § 8601(3)(E) (Actions for filing false recordable instruments against public employees and public officials) $25.00
Court Management System Surcharge (imposed in addition to any fine imposed in a civil or criminal matter or in an administrative enforcement or licensing action) [8] $15.00
Medical Malpractice Notice of Claim (per party) $225.00**
Entry of a Family Matter Action [9] $120.00
Entry of an Emancipation Action No fee
Entry of a Forcible Entry and Detainer[10] $100.00**
Entry of a Small Claims Action [11] $70.00**
Entry of a Small Claims Action when plaintiff is a debt collector as defined in 32 M.R.S. § 11002(6) [12]$197.00**
Entry of a Small Claims Disclosure per defendant $30.00
Entry of a Money Judgment Disclosure when plaintiff is a debt collector as defined in 32 M.R.S. § 11002(6) [13] $212.00**
Money Judgment Disclosure—Reactivated $55.00**
Entry of a Protection from Harassment Action $55.00**
Filing Fee in an action for recovery of personal property	$85.00**
Petition for Adoption of Minor [14]$65.00
Name Change [15]$40.00
Filing of an Emergency Petition for Blood-Born Pathogen Testing No Fee
Violations Bureau Late Payment Fee [16]$50.00
Violations Bureau Re-Opening Fee (per charge) $25.00
Court Management System Fee (imposed in addition to original traffic fines only for violations committed on or after February 1, 2018)[17] $15.00
Initial mediation in Post-Judgment Family Division Matters, including adoption of minors and guardianships of minors (for two mediation sessions) [18]$140.00
Additional mediation in Family Division Matters [19]$160.00
Discretionary Civil Referrals to CADRES [20]$50.00
Foreclosure Action Fee to be paid by plaintiff in each Foreclosure Action filed on or after June 15, 2009 [21]$200.00
Civil Appeal to the Superior Court (M.R. Civ. P. 80B or 80C) $175.00**
Civil Appeal to the Superior Court (other) $150.00
Civil Appeal to the Supreme Judicial Court $175.00**
Entry of Workers’ Compensation Appeal $135.00*
Lis Pendens, 14 M.R.S.§ 4455 Certificate
Fee for Action as Notary Public or Dedimus Justice [22]$10.00
Attorney Identification Cards [23]
Clerk's offices should respond or decline to respond to these requests as provided in the Administrative Order on Public Information and Confidentiality.
L. The following rates apply to electronic recordings and transcript orders:
(1) The charge by Official Court Reporters for Transcripts of any court proceedings [24] shall be $3.00 per page for an original and one copy.
(2) The standard charge [25] by the Office of Transcript Operations, or its contractor(s), for transcripts of any court proceedings [26] shall be up to: $4.50 per page for an original and one copy.
The Maine Judicial Branch requires that fees be paid in full at the time a request is made, and a receipt must be issued. Payment must be made in U.S. funds, and may be by cash, credit card, money order, or check, including out‑of‑state instruments. Foreign checks must be imprinted as “U.S. Funds” and foreign checks not so imprinted will not be accepted.
When the funds in an escrow account are ordered by the Court to be paid to a person entitled to these funds, the Clerk shall instruct the depository to write a check to “Treasurer, State of Maine” for 5% of the total amount in the account at the time of distribution. This applies only to escrow accounts opened on or after July 1, 1989. For escrow accounts opened prior to July 1, 1989, the Clerk shall instruct the depository to divide in half and distribute the interest between the State of Maine and the person entitled to the funds.
Out-of-State official entities that perform a general governmental function such as:
Litigants who have been granted in forma pauperis status pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 91, counsel for those litigants, and any counsel appointed or assigned by the Court are exempt, during the pendency of that action, from payment of fees [27] when the requested copy or service is essential to the conduct of the action.
Copies of documents in protection from abuse or protection from harassment actions, attested or not, will be provided without charge to parties, parties’ counsel or authorized representatives, domestic violence or sexual assault services advocates, and law enforcement agencies.
This procedure does not apply to certificates that do not in themselves have a legal significance, but that simply reflect the existence of a filing, event, or other document with that significance that is retained in the court file (i.e., short-form certificate of judgment of divorce; 10 M.R.S. § 3261 certificate; 14 M.R.S. §§ 2401(3)(F), 4455, 6321, 6653 certificates). However, if a Clerk executes such a certificate or document, it should be reflected in the docket. Therefore, a one-page Clerk’s certificate would cost $5.00, which is the fee for the Clerk’s signature. The attorney or party in this case would receive the original, signed certificate, not an attested copy. However, in the case of a Clerk’s certificate that is made a part of the judgment, the original must be retained.
In order to expedite the flow of work between government agencies, Clerks are authorized to accept requests from parties or counsel asking that a document or attested copy be filed with a Registry of Deeds, but only if the request is accompanied by (1) a check payable to the Registry for the appropriate fee for recording, and where the Registry is in a different facility, (2) by a postage paid pre-addressed mailing envelope. The document must indicate that it is to be returned by the Registry to the party, not the Clerk’s office.
Promulgation Date: October 2, 2019
A.O. JB-05-26 (A. 9-19) Effective October 2, 2019; Dated October 2, 2019.
Signed by: Leigh I. Saufley, Chief Justice, Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Issued to (1) improve readability of this section; and (2) include domestic violence and sexual assault services advocates among lists of persons to whom copies will be provided without charge.
A.O. JB-05-26 (A. 9-19) Effective September 19, 2019; Dated July 25, 2019.
Signed by: Leigh I. Saufley, Chief Justice, Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
Issued to amend section I(A)(4) to (1) clarify in the footnote to “Entry of a Family Matter Action” that, when a grandparent visitation action is filed, it is always a new action requiring payment of the fee for entry of a family matter action, (2) substitute, in that same footnote, the term “post‑judgment” for “post-divorce,” in describing the termination of parental rights actions to which the fee applies, and (3) impose the $127 surcharge required by P.L. 2019, ch. 509, § 3 (codified at 4 M.R.S. § 18-A(3-A)(C)) for small claims actions and money judgment disclosures brought by debt collectors as defined in 32 M.R.S. § 11002(6).
A.O. JB-05-26 (A. 7-18) Effective July 1, 2018; Dated June 11, 2018
Issued to (1) increase certain fees to include a $15 (marked *) or $25 (marked **) fee that will be deposited into an Other Special Revenue account to fund the Court Management System, see 4 M.R.S. § 17‑A; P.L. 2017, ch. 284; (2) separate out the types of appeals to which such fees will apply; (3) impose a $15 Case Management System Surcharge on fines imposed in criminal and civil matters and administrative enforcement or licensing actions that will be deposited into an Other Special Revenue account to fund the Court Management System; (4) impose an additional $100 fee for appearances pro hac vice to be deposited into an Other Special Revenue account to fund the Court Management System; (5) provide that there is no fee for filing an emergency petition for blood-borne pathogen testing; and (6) clarify that the Violations Bureau Re-Opening Fee is imposed on a per-charge basis.
A.O. JB-05-26 (A. 12-17) Effective January 1, 2018, except that section I(C) is effective for violations occurring on or after February 1, 2018; Dated December 18, 2017
Issued to (1) add the filing fee for filing/registering a foreign judgment on a general civil action; (2) clarify that there is no filing fee for filing/registering a foreign judgment on a family matter or protection from abuse action, or entry of a protection from harassment action with an allegation of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault; (3) provide a fee for filing/registering Foreign Judgment for post-judgment relief pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 120 in an action under title 19 or 19-A, including a stipulated amendment to a judgment but excluding a motion or stipulation to modify or enforce a child support order, or a motion to enforce a child custody order pursuant to 19-A M.R.S. § 1763 et seq.; (4) clarify that no fee will be charged for entry of an emancipation action; (5) add a footnote indicating that Violations Bureau late fees are imposed on a per-violation basis; (6) add Court Management System fees on original traffic fines for violations committed on or after February 1, 2018, with the fees deposited into an Other Special Revenue account; and (7) make minor stylistic and formatting changes.
Issued to indicate by footnote in section I(A)(1) that there shall be no filing fee for a notice of appeal “in Unemployment Compensation, Child Protection, or Criminal actions as set forth in subsection C below,” and that “the fee for a Workers’ Compensation Appeal is established separately in subsection C below”; to provide, in section I(A)(2), that, for purposes of the filing fee, a family matter pre-judgment or post‑judgment motion for contempt shall be treated as a motion brought pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 66, not as a motion for post-judgment relief brought pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 120; to change the words “Protective Custody” to “Child Protection” in section I(A)(2), consistent with Title 22, chapter 1071 of the Maine Revised Statutes; to add fees in section I(A)(4) for filing a petition for guardianship of a minor ($50.00), a petition for adoption of a minor ($65.00), and a name change ($40.00); to note that, with respect to an adoption of a minor, additional charges for background checks and new birth certificates must be paid to entities other than the Judicial Branch; to note that no fee is charged when a name change is requested as part of a divorce, adoption, or parentage action; to provide, in section I(A)(6), that the initial mediation fee in post-judgment Family Division matters applies in a proceeding for adoption or guardianship of a minor; to note that mediation in adoptions and guardianships is voluntary; and to state in Section I(C) that there is no fee for child protection appeals.
Issued to clearly state that the fee exemptions do not apply to fees associated with the production of transcripts and audio recordings, including for state agencies; to refer to the Office of Transcript Operations and to include that Office’s contractor(s); to clarify that payment arrangements for transcripts produced by an Official Court Reporter be made directly with the Official Court Reporter and that payment arrangements for transcripts processed through the Office of Transcript Operations be made directly with its contractor(s); to include a sixty-dollar fee for filing of a motion pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 55(b)(2); to increase the fee for requests for records checks in section I(K) from $15.00 to $20.00; to place “Guardians Ad Litem appointed and paid for by the Court” in the part of section III that refers to Maine entities; to clarify references to Clerks as defined in the Administrative Order; and to make minor technical corrections.
[1] Except there shall be no Notice of Appeal Filing Fee in Unemployment Compensation, Child Protection, or criminal actions as set forth in subsection C below. Additionally, the fee for a Workers’ Compensation Appeal is established separately in subsection C below.
[2] This amount includes a $100 fee to be deposited into an Other Special Revenues account to fund the Court Management System. See 4 M.R.S. § 17‑A; P.L. 2017, ch. 284.
[3] A motion or stipulation to modify or enforce a child support order may include a request for attorney fees and still be exempt from the post-judgment filing fee. A fee will be charged for a post judgment motion or stipulation that raises additional issues. For example, a motion or stipulation seeking both a change in visitation and modification of child support requires payment of the fee. Amended motions or stipulations that would require a fee if filed originally will also require the appropriate filing fee. Whenever this fee applies and is charged, it includes a $20.00 mediation fee.
[4] A Family Matter Pre-Judgment or Post-Judgment Motion for Contempt shall be treated as a motion under Rule 66 that would require the filing fee for a Rule 66 motion.
[5] A motion or stipulation to modify or enforce a child support order may include a request for attorney fees and still be exempt from the post-judgment filing fee. A fee will be charged for a post judgment motion or stipulation that raises additional issues. For example, a motion or stipulation seeking both a change in visitation and modification of child support requires payment of the fee. Amended motions or stipulations that would require a fee if filed originally will also require the appropriate filing fee.
[6] As with a motion to modify or enforce a child support order, a motion for contempt alleging the failure to pay child support may include a request for attorney fees and still be exempt from the motion filing fee. A fee will be charged if the party files a motion for contempt that alleges a basis for contempt in addition to the non-payment of child support or requests relief relating to non‑child support issues. For example, if a motion alleges both the non-payment of child support and a failure to follow a visitation schedule, or the motion seeks both to recover unpaid child support and to change a visitation schedule, the filing fee will be charged.
[7] This amount includes a $100 fee to be deposited into an Other Special Revenues account to fund the Court Management System. See 4 M.R.S. § 17‑A; P.L. 2017, ch. 284.
[8] All surcharges collected relating to this subsection shall be deposited into an Other Special Revenue account to fund the Court Management System. See 4 M.R.S. § 17‑A; P.L. 2017, ch. 284.
[9] Includes a grandparents’ visitation petition under 19-A M.R.S. §§ 1801-1805 if filed as a new action; there is no fee if filed within a pending action. The term also applies to post-divorce termination of parental rights actions brought under 22 M.R.S. § 4055(1)(A)(1)(b), and other actions not otherwise listed in this Schedule initiated under specific statutory authority where no filing fee is set by statute.
[10] Includes a $15.00 mediation fee.
[11] Includes a $15.00 mediation fee.
[12] A surcharge of $127.00 on debt collectors bringing small claims actions is included along with the ordinary small claims filing fee. This surcharge will be deposited in the Civil Legal Services Fund as required by 4 M.R.S. § 18-A(3-A)(C). See P.L. 2019, ch. 509, § 3 (effective Sept. 19, 2019).
[13] A surcharge of $127.00 on debt collectors filing money judgment disclosures is included along with the ordinary money judgment disclosure filing fee. This surcharge will be deposited in the Civil Legal Services Fund as required by 4 M.R.S. § 18-A(3-A)(C). See P.L. 2019, ch. 509, § 3 (effective Sept. 19, 2019).
[14] Additional charges for background checks and new birth certificates must be paid to entities other than the Judicial Branch.
[15] No fee is charged when a name change is requested as part of a divorce, adoption, or parentage action.
[16] A late fee will be calculated separately for each charge on which a fine is imposed that remains unpaid.
[17] All fees collected relating to this subsection shall be deposited into an Other Special Revenue account to fund the Court Management System. See 4 M.R.S. § 17-A(3); P.L. 2017, ch 284.
[18] Mediation in adoptions and guardianships of minors is voluntary.
[19] This reflects no change in policy or fee, but has not previously been listed in the fees schedule.
[20] This is an administrative fee.
[21] This is an administrative fee imposed in addition to the filing fee upon all foreclosure action filings in the State of Maine on or after June 15, 2009. The revenue generated by the fee will be used to fund a Foreclosure Diversion Program as authorized by the 124th Legislature (see P.L. 2009, ch. 402). Although the fee is imposed upon all foreclosure actions regardless of the underlying nature of the action or statutory authority for filing, only certain residential foreclosures will be eligible for inclusion in the Diversion Program. Subsequent orders of the Court will outline the contours and requirements of any pilot projects or state-wide efforts.
[22] No fee is to be charged for notarization of papers to be filed with the court.
[23] These fees are to implement the provisions of Me. Admin. Order JB-15-2 section II(C)(2) (effective May 1, 2015).
[24] Each page of transcript shall have at least twenty-five typed lines and each full line shall be six inches in length. This order shall not preclude the practice of formatting four pages of transcript on a single sheet of paper, referred to in Maine Rule of Civil Procedure 5(i)(2) as condensed transcripts.
[25] Standard charges apply to transcripts produced in 30 days; charges for expedited transcripts and other supplemental services may be imposed if requested by the party/parties responsible for payment.
[26] Deposits that approximate the total charge shall be made directly with the Office of Transcript Operations or its contractor(s).
[27] This exemption does not apply to fees related to electronic recordings of court proceedings or the production of transcripts provided through the Office of Transcript Operations or its contractor(s) or Official Court Reporters, see I(L), requested by litigants represented by court appointed or assigned counsel or requested by court appointed or court assigned counsel. In such cases, the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services is responsible for payment.