What if the Pocahontas county solid waste authority failed to pay the individual court cost to file the judgment

 If the Pocahontas County Solid Waste Authority (PCSWA) obtained magistrate court judgments against citizens without paying the required statutory filing fees, the legal and financial impacts depend on whether the omission was an unlawful procedural shortcut or a standard governmental fee deferral.

1. Grounds to Vacate or Set Aside the Judgments

Under West Virginia Code §50-3-1, magistrate courts are required to collect civil filing fees in advance ($30.00 to $50.00 per civil action, plus certified mail and service costs).

• Procedural Invalidation: If the magistrate court accepted complaints and issued judgments without collecting statutory fees or receiving a valid legal waiver, affected citizens can file a Motion to Set Aside / Vacate Judgment under Rule 60(b) of the Rules of Civil Procedure.

• Improper Taxing of Unpaid Costs: If the court tacked filing fees onto the final judgment awarded against the citizen—even though the PCSWA never actually paid those fees upfront—the court billed citizens for costs that were never incurred by the plaintiff. This constitutes a reversible accounting error and an invalid assessment of court costs.

2. Freeze on Active Wage Garnishments and Bank Levies

If judgments are challenged on the basis of improper filing procedures or lack of fee compliance:

• Stay of Execution: Courts must freeze active collection mechanisms—such as suggestee executions, wage attachments, or bank account liens—pending a hearing on whether the initial filing met statutory requirements.

• Restitution of Funds: If a court rules that a default judgment was entered under an invalid filing procedure, any money already seized from citizens via garnishment must be refunded.

3. State Audit and Judicial Investigation of the Court Clerk

Court filing fees in West Virginia are not merely administrative paperwork; portions of every magistrate filing fee are mandated by law to be deposited into specific state accounts:

• Court Security Fund

• Courthouse Facilities Improvement Fund

If a magistrate court clerk systematically waived or failed to collect mandatory filing fees for the PCSWA without explicit statutory authority, it triggers administrative exposure:

• State Auditor Review: The West Virginia State Auditor's Office and the Administrative Office of the Supreme Court of Appeals routinely audit magistrate court financial dockets.

• Surcharge Liability: If an audit reveals that court clerks failed to collect mandated statutory fees, the court clerk or the PCSWA can be held liable for paying those delinquent fees back into the state funds.

4. The Counter-Scenario: Deferred Public Entity Fees

It is important to distinguish between failing to pay required fees and governmental fee deferral:

• Under certain administrative rules, public agencies or county entities are permitted to file civil complaints without prepaying cash at the counter, with the understanding that filing fees will be "taxed as costs" and collected from the losing party upon entry or enforcement of judgment.

• If the PCSWA operated under a valid statutory deferral agreement with the court, the underlying judgment remains legally sound, but the PCSWA or the court clerk must accurately account for those fees once collected from the citizen.

Recommended Action for Affected Citizens

1. Pull the Magistrate Court Case File: Request a copy of the Civil Docket Sheet and Itemized Statement of Costs from the Pocahontas County Magistrate Court Clerk for your specific case.

2. Check for Fee Receipts: Look at whether a receipt for the initial filing fee ($30–$50) exists in the file or whether it was marked "waived," "deferred," or uncollected.

3. File a Motion to Vacate / Stay Execution: If no legal fee waiver exists and fees were wrongfully added to your judgment, file a motion requesting the magistrate or circuit judge to vacate the judgment and freeze any pending collection attempts.