I looked up the filing fees for Answers to Counterclaims. I'm not sure
they apply. The Rule (R. 1:43) states "Filing First Responsive Pleading in
Dissolution Matter" is $175.00 (and refers to N.J.S.A. 22A:2-12). This is
for the defendant's response.
From what I could tell, N.J.S.A. 22A:2-12 reads (in relevant part):
"
22A:2-12. Payment of fees in Chancery Division of Superio Court upon filing
of first paper.
22A:2-12. Payment of fees in Chancery Division of Superior Court upon
filing of first paper. Upon the filing of the first paper in any action or
proceeding in the Chancery Division of the Superior Court, there shall be
paid to the clerk of the court, for the use of the State, the following
fees, which, except as hereinafter provided, shall constitute the entire
fees to be collected by the clerk for the use of the State, down to the
final disposition of the cause:
...
Actions and proceedings for divorce or dissolution of a civil union,
$300.00, $25.00 of which shall be forwarded by the Clerk of the Superior
Court as provided in section 2 of P.L.1993, c.188 (C.52:27D-43.24a).
"
(The New Jersey Legislature web site does not reflect the recent amendments
to the filing fees, so I updated the numbers).
N.J.S.A. 22A:2-13 ("Answering, pleading or paper, fee") reads:
"22A:2-13. Each person other than the plaintiff filing an answering
pleading or other answering paper in the Chancery Division of the Superior
Court shall at the time of filing the first paper, pay to the clerk the sum
of $175.00; which shall cover all fees payable therein except such as may
be otherwise provided herein or by law or the rules of court."
(Again, I updated the amount of the fee since the NJ Legislature's web site
did not reflect the current amount).
This language indicates the filing fee for an Answer is not applicable to
the Plaintiff, which makes sense and is how we've been handling it for
years.
However, as previously stated, the above rules and statutes appear to be in
direct contravention to Judge Grant's Notices:
Judge Grant's Notice to the Bar (
http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/notices/2015/n150227a.pdf) states there is
a filing fee of $175.00 for Answers to Counterclaims, although that seems
incongruous to the Statute. The justification by Judge Grant is that they
are "made in response to a new cause of action." Judge Grant's previous
"Clarification" for R. 1:43 (
http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/notices/2014/n141224a.pdf) states the
"maximum fee charged for an answer or amended answer with a counterclaim,
cross claim and/or third party complaint is $250". Again, all of these
"clarifications" and statutes seem to contradict each other, although Judge
Grant's most recent statement is $175 for an Answer to a Counterclaim, so I
assume that's why some people are being charged.
Apologies for the formatting, these were copied and pasted from some
e-mails I had sent.
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On Thu, Oct 8, 2015 at 4:11 PM, Robert Davies via New Jersey State Bar
Original Message------
I had an adversary file a default on a counterclaim in a case which we were
actively litigating.
It cost several hours of work to get the motion filed (he would not consent
to vacate).
And under the logic of this requirement, you would STILL have to pay to file
that Answer to Counterclaim, when you got the default vacated.
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