Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
What should I do to recover my actual total costs?
I won a judgment in Small Claims court in San Francisco Superior Court. Although the costs consisting of the filing fee and the process serving receipts that I have submitted to the court, and appear as scan documents in the court Register of Actions total #358, the amount posted is $220 only. I have brought this error to the attention of the judge and the clerk. No change has been made.
Thank you for clarification.
2 Answers from Attorneys
You need to file a Memorandum of Costs. This is California Judicial Council form MC-012, and can be obtained online or from the clerk of the small claims court.
The general form is here: http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/mc012.pdf
I would nevertheless check with the court clerk to see if there is a "local form" that they use in your county, and make sure that the MC-012 form is indeed the one you should use.
I would also add that not all costs are recoverable. For example, if you did not use a registered process server, you are going to be limited to what you can recover for service, regardless of what the person charged you for the service.
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