Survey Reports Problems with Filing New Fees

Cries from practitioners balking at last summer's increase in filing fees appear to have intensified as complaints mount about problems with the collection of those fees. The New York State Bar Association is expected to release the results of a survey to the Office of Court Administration this week, which State Bar President A. Thomas Levin said identifies several criticisms with the new state Supreme Court fees required for filing motions, cross motions and stipulations of settlement and discontinuance.

The survey, which he said was sent to about 13,000 practitioners and generated about 350 responses, asked attorneys across the state what kinds of experiences they were having with the charges implemented in July, and how the collection of those fees should be administered. Levin said many of the responses indicated that attorneys were still bristling from the rise in fees, which went up in several areas. The increase, initiated in part to defray the costs of assigned counsel for indigent clients, included three new charges: a $45 fee for all motions and cross motions, a $35 charge for filing a stipulation of settlement, and a $35 fee for submitting a voluntary discontinuance. Other filing fees also rose.

“They're still mad that they have to pay more in the first place,” Levin said. But the problem apparently is not just money. Many responses indicated logistics problems associated with paying motion fees, he said. In suburban and upstate areas, county clerk's offices, where the fees are paid, often are located separately from Supreme Court motion support, where motions are usually filed. Apparently, there are some rough spots with coordinating those offices.

Colleen Zink, a matrimonial attorney in Steuben County, said a problem with paperwork logistics caused a delay there in receiving a motion. She said that she was “running really close on the deadline” in filing her reply. As a result, she had to pay to hand-deliver the reply, and spent a good part of a day running between the clerk's office and Supreme Court to ensure that papers and fees were appropriately submitted. Ms. Zink also said the new fee for filing a stipulation of discontinuance has prompted her not to file those papers in matrimonial cases where the parties have entered into a separation agreement. Instead of paying the $35 fee for discontinuance and then paying for another index number when the parties are ready to divorce, she leaves the case open. “I've told my clients while separation time is running that their index number might still be alive,” she said, adding, “It's ticking me off that I have to pay the discontinuance fee.”

Hitches in Nassau's system have led officials there to launch a pilot program allowing attorneys to file motion fees with the motion papers at state Supreme Court. Under the program, clerks in Supreme Court motion support will receive the motions and payments, by check only, and transmit the intake data to the County Clerk's office.

Some attorneys responding to the State Bar survey suggested that a way to avoid the motion-fee confusion is to abolish those fees and simply increase the amount required for index numbers and requests for judicial intervention.

The New York State Bar Association is expected to post the results of its survey on its Web site as soon it compiles the information.

The publisher of this newsletter is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, financial, investment advisory or other professional services, and this publication is not meant to constitute legal, accounting, financial, investment advisory or other professional advice. If legal, financial, investment advisory or other professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

Cries from practitioners balking at last summer's increase in filing fees appear to have intensified as complaints mount about problems with the collection of those fees. The New York State Bar Association is expected to release the results of a survey to the Office of Court Administration this week, which State Bar President A. Thomas Levin said identifies several criticisms with the new state Supreme Court fees required for filing motions, cross motions and stipulations of settlement and discontinuance.

The survey, which he said was sent to about 13,000 practitioners and generated about 350 responses, asked attorneys across the state what kinds of experiences they were having with the charges implemented in July, and how the collection of those fees should be administered. Levin said many of the responses indicated that attorneys were still bristling from the rise in fees, which went up in several areas. The increase, initiated in part to defray the costs of assigned counsel for indigent clients, included three new charges: a $45 fee for all motions and cross motions, a $35 charge for filing a stipulation of settlement, and a $35 fee for submitting a voluntary discontinuance. Other filing fees also rose.

“They're still mad that they have to pay more in the first place,” Levin said. But the problem apparently is not just money. Many responses indicated logistics problems associated with paying motion fees, he said. In suburban and upstate areas, county clerk's offices, where the fees are paid, often are located separately from Supreme Court motion support, where motions are usually filed. Apparently, there are some rough spots with coordinating those offices.

Colleen Zink, a matrimonial attorney in Steuben County, said a problem with paperwork logistics caused a delay there in receiving a motion. She said that she was “running really close on the deadline” in filing her reply. As a result, she had to pay to hand-deliver the reply, and spent a good part of a day running between the clerk's office and Supreme Court to ensure that papers and fees were appropriately submitted. Ms. Zink also said the new fee for filing a stipulation of discontinuance has prompted her not to file those papers in matrimonial cases where the parties have entered into a separation agreement. Instead of paying the $35 fee for discontinuance and then paying for another index number when the parties are ready to divorce, she leaves the case open. “I've told my clients while separation time is running that their index number might still be alive,” she said, adding, “It's ticking me off that I have to pay the discontinuance fee.”

Hitches in Nassau's system have led officials there to launch a pilot program allowing attorneys to file motion fees with the motion papers at state Supreme Court. Under the program, clerks in Supreme Court motion support will receive the motions and payments, by check only, and transmit the intake data to the County Clerk's office.

Some attorneys responding to the State Bar survey suggested that a way to avoid the motion-fee confusion is to abolish those fees and simply increase the amount required for index numbers and requests for judicial intervention.

The New York State Bar Association is expected to post the results of its survey on its Web site as soon it compiles the information.

The publisher of this newsletter is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, financial, investment advisory or other professional services, and this publication is not meant to constitute legal, accounting, financial, investment advisory or other professional advice. If legal, financial, investment advisory or other professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.