Md. General Assembly raises court filing fee surcharges 

Posted: 2:50 pm Tue, April 13, 2010
By Steve Lash
Daily Record Legal Affairs Writer

ANNAPOLIS – Beginning June 1, attorneys filing suit in Maryland will pay an increased surcharge of between $8 and $30 under legislation the General Assembly passed Monday night to raise more money for legal assistance for the indigent.

Funds raised through the surcharges will go to the cash-strapped Maryland Legal Services Corp., which distributes the money to organizations that provide the legal assistance.

Supporters of the surcharge boost — including Court of Appeals Chief Judge Robert M. Bell — have called the increase necessary because Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts, the source of half of MLSC’s funding, is running dry as interest rates have plummeted in the weak economy. The interest paid this fiscal year, which began July 1, is expected to be $2 million, compared to $6.7 million in 2008, according to the Maryland Judiciary.

“We don’t meet the needs of the poor in terms of legal services,” Bell told the House Judiciary Committee last January in urging lawmakers to increase the surcharge.

The boost will raise the circuit court filing surcharge $30, from $25 to $55. The change would bring the total fee for a circuit court filing to $135.

The surcharge for filing in district court will increase from $10 to $18. This will bring the total fee for a district court filing to $38 for claims of between $5,000 and $25,000, and to $28 for claims below $5,000.

The surcharge for filing for summary ejectment, or eviction, in district court will increase from $5 to $8. This will bring the total fee to $12 statewide, except for Baltimore, where the fee will be $16.