Good Morning,Stipulation from Notice of Dismissal under MD rule 3-506(b) states:"the parties agree that defendant will pay the sum of $2,000...

Question

Good Morning,

Stipulation from Notice of Dismissal under MD rule 3-506(b) states:

"the parties agree that defendant will pay the sum of $2,000 in principal, $0 in interest, $0 in attorney fees plus court costs. Interest shall/shall not accrue at 0%...."

I'm the defendant. At first read, I thought I only had to pay a total of $2,000. Now the other party is telling me that the court costs are $323. I have no idea of proving or disproving those court costs. Are they court fees? The Court said there is no fee. Are they attorney's cost for coming to meet me in court? How can I reduce those "costs"? The other party is telling me that If I default, I am responsible for the entire balance - full amount of the claim less any payment received, with post judgement interest.

Thank you.

Answer

Court costs are charges imposed by the court (generally filing fees) not attorneys fees. They cannot be increased or reduced by either party, but you can call the clerk to verify how much the court costs are in any given case.

It may be that the clerk you spoke with verified that there are no OPEN court costs, meaning that any fees in the case have already been paid. You may wish to call back and verify how much was charged / paid already if your agreement was to pay all such costs.