Hawaii Seal Hawaii Revised Statutes

607-5

Costs; circuit courts

§607-5 Costs; circuit courts. (a) The fees prescribed by the schedule in this section shall be paid to the clerk of the circuit court as costs of court by the person instituting the action or proceeding, or offering the paper for filing, or causing the document to be issued or the services to be performed in the circuit court; provided that nothing in the schedule shall apply to cases of adults charged with commission of a crime, or to proceedings under section 571-11(1), (2), or (9), to proceedings under chapter 333F or 334, to small estates including decedents’ estates and protection of property of minors and persons under disability when the amount payable is fixed by another statute; provided further that the fees prescribed by subsection ©(32) shall be deposited by the clerk of the circuit court into the judiciary computer system special fund pursuant to section 601-3.7; provided further that the fees prescribed by subsection (b)(1a) shall be deposited by the clerk of the circuit court as provided in section 667-53(a)(6).

For the purpose of this section, “judgment” includes a decree and any order from which an appeal lies.

SCHEDULE

In the application of this schedule, each case assigned a new number or filed under the number previously assigned to a probate, trust, guardianship, or conservatorship, shall carry a fee for the institution or transfer of the action or proceeding as prescribed by part I, and in addition the fees prescribed by part II unless otherwise provided.

(b) PART I

Action or proceeding, general:

(1) Civil action or special proceeding, unless another item in part I applies……… $200

(1a) Petition for conversion of nonjudicial foreclosure to judicial foreclosure….. $250

(2) Appeal to a circuit court………… $100

(3) Transfer of action to circuit court from district court, in addition to district court fees……. $125

Trusts:

(4) Proceeding for (A) appointment of trustee; (B) appointment of successor; © resignation of trustee; (D) instructions; (E) approval of investment; (F) approval of sale, mortgage, lease, or other disposition of property; (G) approval of compromise of claim, for each such matter……….. $100

(5) Proceeding for (A) removal of trustee; (B) order requiring accounting; © invalidation of action taken by trustee; (D) termination of trust, for each such matter……….. $100

(6) Accounting, this fee to be paid for each account filed and to include the settlement of the account……….. $10

(7) Vesting order…… no charge under part I

(8) Allowance of fees of trustees, attorneys, or other fees for services incurred in a proceeding for which a fee has been paid under this section.. no charge under part I

(8a) Registration of a trust, or release of registration, under chapter 560…….. $3

(9) Any other proceeding relating to a trust…………. $15

Conservatorship:

(10) Proceeding for (A) appointment; (B) appointment of successor; © resignation; (D) instructions, unless included in one of the foregoing proceedings; (E), (F), (G) approval of any matter listed in (E), (F), or (G) of item (4) in relation to a trust, for each such matter…… $100

(11) Proceeding of the nature listed in (A), (B), ©, or (D) of item (5) in relation to a trust, for each such matter……. $15

(12) Accounting, same as provided by item (6) in relation to a trust…………. $10

(13) Any other proceeding relating to a

conservatorship…. no charge under part I

Guardianship:

(13a) Guardianship, including all matters of the nature listed in items (4) to (9), whether in family or circuit court … $100

Probate (decedents’ estates). These fees include all matters of the nature listed in items (4) to (9), without additional charge:

(14) Probate, administration, domiciliary foreign personal representative, or ancillary administration, this fee to be paid once only for each decedent’s estate $100

Family court cases:

(15) Matrimonial action (annulment, divorce, separation, or separate maintenance)….. $100

(16) Adoption……… $100

(17) Guardianship, including all matters of the nature listed in items (4) to (9) As provided in item 13(a)

(18) Termination of parental rights…. no charge under part I

(19) Any other family court proceeding, except motions or other pleadings in matrimonial, adoption, and guardianship actions, but including without limitation custody proceedings even if in the form of an habeas corpus proceeding…….. $15

© PART II

The fees prescribed by this part apply without exception.

Jury trial:

(21) Demand for jury trial, including without limitation probate cases, appeals to the circuit court, and cases transferred to the circuit court from the district court, this fee to be paid to the court in which the demand is filed by the party first making the demand……….. $200

(22) Remand to district court in cases transferred to circuit court from district court on demand for jury trial, where jury trial is waived and a remand of such cases to district court is allowed………… $50

Miscellaneous:

(23) Filing of notice of appeal, to be paid in addition to the deposit of appeal costs………… $100

(24) Search of records by the clerk………. $2

(25) Making of copy; comparing of copy with original; certification or authentication of notaries

… Fees prescribed by section 92-21

(26) Certification under seal of copy of pleading or other paper subsequent to the initial filing of the pleading or paper, except record on appeal………. $1

(27) Exemplification, instead of item (26)…………… $2

(28) Filing of copy of notice of completion of contract, with affidavit of publication…….. $3

(29) Filing of initial paper under section 507-43 by person asserting mechanic’s or materialman’s lien (this fee to be additional to the fee prescribed by part I for bringing an action under section 507-47)……….. $15

(30) Filing of any other paper not in a pending proceeding. $3

(31) Printing, publishing, or posting notice; service fees; garnishee fees; mileage charges; or other services actually performed….. Amounts necessary to

cover actual costs or disbursements

(32) For administrative costs associated with the processing of all civil filings except those brought by the State or any of the various counties or political subdivisions of the State………… $50.

[RL 1935, pt of §3791; am L 1939, c 19, pt of §1; am L 1941, c 229, pt of §1; RL 1945, §9745; am L 1945, c 94, §1; RL 1955, §219-5; am L 1957, c 316, §§14 to 22; am L 1966, c 22, §6; HRS §607-5; am L 1972, c 88, §5(g) to (j); am L 1974, c 145, §7; am L 1976, c 200, pt of §1; am L 1986, c 34, §1; am L 1990, c 34, §17; am L 1991, c 140, §3; am L 1998, c 128, §§2, 3; am L 1999, c 92, §2; am L 2003, c 216, §§3, 4; am L 2004, c 3, §1 as superseded by c 202, §62 and c 161, §35; am L 2006, c 20, §2 and c 94, §1; am L 2010, c 109, §1; am L 2011, c 48, §15; am L 2012, c 182, §11]

Cross References

Assessment for bench warrant issuance, see §607-8.5.

Fees for other court documents, see §92-21.

Publication of notice, see §601-13.

Rules of Court

See RCC rule 26.

Attorney General Opinions

No fee is required under subsection (b) for an amended complaint. Att. Gen. Op. 61-77.

Case Notes

Failure to deposit cost at time of filing suit is not fatal to case. 9 H. 630 (1895).

“Costs” must be considered as used in the statute in its broad comprehensive sense and to include not alone the statutory costs included in the section eo nomine but also all costs incidentally incurred in the execution by the circuit judge of the duties imposed upon the judge by law pertaining to statutory partition. 35 H. 262, 297 (1939).

In an equity proceeding an award of an attorney’s fee as damages may not be made where no injunctive relief has been granted, unless expressly sanctioned by statute. 35 H. 595, 606 (1940).

Nonpayment of costs did not render ineffective a timely filed notice of appeal. 57 H. 168, 552 P.2d 355 (1976).

Cited: 35 H. 682, 684 (1940); 35 H. 779, 782 (1941); 44 H. 613, 622, 359 P.2d 932 (1961).