§ 7A-305. Costs in civil actions.
§ 7A‑305. Costs incivil actions.
(a) In every civilaction in the superior or district court, except for actions brought underChapter 50B of the General Statutes, shall be assessed:
(1) For the use of thecourtroom and related judicial facilities, the sum of twelve dollars ($12.00)in cases heard before a magistrate, and the sum of sixteen dollars ($16.00) indistrict and superior court, to be remitted to the county in which the judgmentis rendered, except that in all cases in which the judgment is rendered infacilities provided by a municipality, the facilities fee shall be paid to themunicipality. Funds derived from the facilities fees shall be used in the samemanner, for the same purposes, and subject to the same restrictions, asfacilities fees assessed in criminal actions.
(1a) (Effective untilJuly 1, 2010) For the upgrade, maintenance, and operation of the judicialand county courthouse phone systems, the sum of three dollars ($3.00), to becredited to the Court Information Technology Fund.
(1a) (Effective July 1,2010) For the upgrade, maintenance, and operation of the judicial andcounty courthouse phone systems, the sum of four dollars ($4.00), to becredited to the Court Information Technology Fund.
(2) For support of theGeneral Court of Justice, the sum of ninety‑three dollars ($93.00) in thesuperior court, except that if a case is assigned to a special superior courtjudge as a complex business case under G.S. 7A‑45.3, an additional onethousand dollars ($1,000) shall be paid upon its assignment, and the sum ofseventy‑three dollars ($73.00) in the district court except that if thecase is assigned to a magistrate the sum shall be fifty‑five dollars($55.00). Sums collected under this subdivision shall be remitted to the StateTreasurer. The State Treasurer shall remit the sum of two dollars and fivecents ($2.05) of each fee collected under this subdivision to the NorthCarolina State Bar for the provision of services described in G.S. 7A‑474.4,and ninety‑five cents ($.95) of each fee collected under this subdivisionto the North Carolina State Bar for the provision of services described in G.S.7A‑474.19.
(a1) Costs apply to anyand all additional and subsequent actions filed by amendment to the originalaction brought under Chapter 50B of the General Statutes, unless suchadditional and subsequent amendment to the action is also brought under Chapter50B of the General Statutes.
(a2) In every action forabsolute divorce filed in the district court, a cost of seventy‑fivedollars ($75.00) shall be assessed against the person filing the divorceaction. Costs collected by the clerk pursuant to this subsection shall beremitted to the State Treasurer, who shall deposit fifty‑five dollars($55.00) to the North Carolina Fund for Displaced Homemakers established underG.S. 143B‑394.10 and twenty dollars ($20.00) to the Domestic ViolenceCenter Fund established under G.S. 50B‑9. Costs assessed under thissubsection shall be in addition to any other costs assessed under this section.
(a3), (a4) Repealed bySession Laws 2008‑118, s. 2.9(c), effective July 1, 2008.
(b) On appeal, costsare cumulative, and when cases heard before a magistrate are appealed to thedistrict court, the General Court of Justice fee and the facilities feeapplicable in the district court shall be added to the fees assessed before themagistrate. When an order of the clerk of the superior court is appealed toeither the district court or the superior court, no additional General Court ofJustice fee or facilities fee shall be assessed.
(b1) When a defendantfiles an answer in an action filed as a small claim which requires the entirecase to be withdrawn from a magistrate and transferred to the district court,the difference between the General Court of Justice fee and facilities feeapplicable to the district court and the General Court of Justice fee andfacilities fee applicable to cases heard by a magistrate shall be assessed. Thedefendant is responsible for paying the fee.
(c) The clerk ofsuperior court, at the time of the filing of the papers initiating the actionor the appeal, shall collect as advance court costs, the facilities fee,General Court of Justice fee, and the divorce fee imposed under subsection (a2)of this section, except in suits by an indigent. The clerk shall also collectthe fee for discovery procedures under Rule 27(a) and (b) at the time of thefiling of the verified petition.
(d) The followingexpenses, when incurred, are assessable or recoverable, as the case may be. Theexpenses set forth in this subsection are complete and exclusive and constitutea limit on the trial court's discretion to tax costs pursuant to G.S. 6‑20:
(1) Witness fees, asprovided by law.
(2) Jail fees, asprovided by law.
(3) Counsel fees, asprovided by law.
(4) Expense of serviceof process by certified mail and by publication.
(5) Costs on appeal tothe superior court, or to the appellate division, as the case may be, of theoriginal transcript of testimony, if any, insofar as essential to the appeal.
(6) Fees for personal serviceand civil process and other sheriff's fees, as provided by law. Fees forpersonal service by a private process server may be recoverable in an amountequal to the actual cost of such service or fifty dollars ($50.00), whicheveris less, unless the court finds that due to difficulty of service a greateramount is appropriate.
(7) Fees of mediatorsappointed by the court, mediators agreed upon by the parties, guardians adlitem, referees, receivers, commissioners, surveyors, arbitrators, appraisers,and other similar court appointees, as provided by law. The fee of suchappointees shall include reasonable reimbursement for stenographic assistance,when necessary.
(8) Fees ofinterpreters, when authorized and approved by the court.
(9) Premiums for suretybonds for prosecution, as authorized by G.S. 1‑109.
(10) Reasonable andnecessary expenses for stenographic and videographic assistance directlyrelated to the taking of depositions and for the cost of depositiontranscripts.
(11) Reasonable andnecessary fees of expert witnesses solely for actual time spent providingtestimony at trial, deposition, or other proceedings.
Nothing in this subsection or inG.S. 6‑20 shall be construed to limit the trial court's authority toaward fees and expenses in connection with pretrial discovery matters asprovided in Rule 26(b) or Rule 37 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, and no awardof costs made pursuant to this section or pursuant to G.S. 6‑20 shallreverse or modify any such orders entered in connection with pretrialdiscovery.
(e) Nothing in thissection shall affect the liability of the respective parties for costs asprovided by law. (1965,c. 310, s. 1; 1967, c. 108, s. 10; c. 691, s. 30; 1971, c. 377, ss. 23, 24; c.1181, s. 1; 1973, c. 503, ss. 12‑14; c. 1267, s. 3; 1975, c. 558, s. 3;1975, 2nd Sess., c. 980, ss. 2, 3; 1979, 2nd Sess., c. 1234, s. 1; 1981, c.555, s. 6; c. 691, s. 2; 1983, c. 713, ss. 4‑6; 1989, c. 786, s. 2; 1991,c. 742, s. 15(b); 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 811, s. 2; 1993, c. 435, s. 6; 1995,c. 275, s. 2; 1998‑212, s. 29A.12(b); 1998‑219, ss. 2, 3; 2000‑109,s. 4(b); 2001‑424, s. 22.14(b); 2002‑126, ss. 29A.4(b), 29A.6(e);2004‑186, s. 4.3; 2005‑276, s. 43.1(b); 2005‑405, s. 5; 2005‑425,s. 1.2; 2007‑212, s. 3; 2007‑293, s. 2; 2007‑323, ss.30.8(b), 30.10(a), 30.11(a), (c); 2007‑345, ss. 9.1(a), (c); 2008‑107,ss. 29.1(a), 29.8(b); 2008‑118, s. 2.9(c); 2008‑193, s. 2; 2009‑451,s. 15.20(d), (e).)