How much does it cost to file a lawsuit?
A:In California, there are three different jurisdictions to file a lawsuit: small claims, limited civil, and unlimited civil. Small claims is typically limited to a dollar amount at issue worth $7,500 or less. Limited Civil is $25,000 or less. And unlimited civil is, as the name implies, unlimited in the dollar amount of damages which can be sought. The filing fee for each court is as follows:
- Small Claims – Amount of claim: $0 to $1500 – Filing Fee $30
- Small Claims – Amount of Claim: $1500.01 to $5,000 – Filing Fee $50
- Small Claims – Amount of Claim: $5000.01 to $7,500 – Filing Fee $75
- Limited Civil – Amount of Claim: $10,000 and below – Filing Fee $205
- Limited Civil – Amount of Claim: $10,000 to $25,000 – Filing Fee $330
- Unlimited Civil – Amount of Claim: Over $25,000 – Filing Fee $355
For the official California Court cost schedule, click here.
How much does it cost to serve a lawsuit on a defendant?
A: The cost to perform service of process varies from process server to process server. Our process server (Rapid Legal) charges (as of the date of this writing) $59.50 for standard service, $79.50 for rush service (attempted within 2 days), and $99.50 for same-day service.
What’s a deposition and how much do those cost?
A: A deposition is where a person is asked questions under oath with a court reporter present. It is typically a very important and critical part of the “discovery process.” The goal of the discovery process it to get information about the case from the other side. Depositions can be very expensive. For example, a recent deposition which lasted 1.5 hours cost $480 for the written transcript. The video for the same deposition taken by a professional cameraman cost $420. Most cases will usually require at least one deposition.