I am a Pro Se defendant/cross-plaintiff in an Orange County CA lawsuit. I filed for a fee waiver, following the instructions on the OC website. I then filed an answer and cross-complaint with an e-filing service, noting that I had a fee waiver submitted in the notes to the clerk. The Court charged fees of $1,100 - due to multiple defendants and only one fee waiver submitted. We did not realize each defendant needed a fee waiver, the instructions do not mention this. The efiling service paid the fees and was rejected by the Court for a refund, as it said it does not retroactively refund fees. The service is now threatening to file with the Court for non-payment of fees and have our case dismissed. Can they do this? I thought only the Court could dismiss a case for non-payment of fees?
Only Courts and Parties have the power to dismiss cases. The e-filing company is an independent vendor and they have no power to determine or make decisions with respect to your case. Arguably, they could file something on your behalf without your consent; but that is highly unlikely because that would subject the company to fraud claims which would then jeopardize their ability to conduct business with the Courts. The most likely scenario is that they would come after you in small claims to recover the fees advanced.
As a poster above stated, you should consider hiring an attorney if that is at all possible.
Since e-filing is somewhat new in the state courts, I can't give you a concrete answer. But, e-filing is required, and if you owe them money and don't pay it, they can refuse to do your e-filing. I suspect they can also ask the court to dismiss your case, but I don't believe they can do it arbitrarily. It would require a motion, hearing, and an order, if it is even allowed at all.
As a pro-per, you are supposed to be held to the same standards as an attorney, but in reality, most pro-pers are not. You may need to pay the efiling company the amount they paid, and then seek a refund from the court.
