The plaintiff shall pay the statutory filing fee and surcharge unless found to be indigent.
Commentary
The plaintiff, unless found to be indigent, shall pay the filing fee established by G.L. c. 218, s. 22 and the surcharge imposed by G.L. c. 262, s. 4(c) to the appropriate clerk-magistrate’s office. The plaintiff should not be charged any fee for the blank Statement of Small Claim form itself, nor should a plaintiff who files a small claim by mail be charged for postage to send out his or her own copy of the Statement of Small Claim by return mail.
Just as with other civil actions, multiple plaintiffs should be charged a single filing fee if they are seeking joint relief. Multiple plaintiffs should be charged a single surcharge. If they file simultaneously, they may be asked to divide the surcharge; otherwise the first plaintiff to file must pay the entire surcharge. Regardless of whether a division normally advises plaintiffs to file a claim against multiple defendants on a single Statement of Small Claim (photocopying extra copies as needed for giving notice) or on separate Statement of Small Claim forms for each defendant, the plaintiff should pay only a single filing fee and surcharge.
Upon request, or when otherwise indicated, a plaintiff should be referred to the clerk-magistrate or a designated assistant clerk-magistrate for a determination as to whether entry fees should be waived pursuant to the Indigent Court Costs Law. G.L. c. 261, ss. 27A-27G and Uniform Small Claims Rule 2.