Brief Description: Allowing attorneys to recover actual costs for service of process.

Sponsors: Senators Carrell, Kline and Roach.

Senate Committee on Judiciary
House Committee on Judiciary

Background: Under current law, the prevailing party is allowed certain sums by way of indemnity for expenses in an action including a reasonable amount of money incurred in effecting service of process. If the court, upon judgment, finds that the service of process fees previously agreed upon by the process server and the attorney are not reasonable, it may lower those fees despite the agreement.

Summary: The prevailing party, upon judgment, is allowed certain sums by way of indemnity for expenses in the action including the actual amount of money charged and incurred for the service of a process server.

A registered process server or a process server who is exempt from registration is allowed to charge and collect, for each service assignment delivered to the process server for service, the following fees: (1) the actual amount if the fee is less than $100; or (2) a reasonable amount if the fee is greater than $100.

Votes on Final Passage:

Senate      49   0
House      95   0

Effective:   July 22, 2007