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Civil Procedure

Top state court nixes $2.5M personal injury suit because filing fee was $2 short

A lawsuit isn’t officially filed until the full filing fee is paid, Virginia’s top court has ruled.

That means a $2.5 million personal injury suit a law firm tried to file a few days before the statute of limitations expired was correctly dismissed by Powhatan Circuit Court, because the filing fee paid was $2 short of the required total amount, the Virginia Supreme Court held in a Jan. 30 opinion.

The law firm sent the complaint in by mail, along with a check, and didn’t find out about the filing-fee issue until the final day the suit could be filed. It mailed the $2 immediately, but the payment wasn’t received and credited until several days later, according to Above the Law and Virginia Lawyers Weekly (sub. req.).