Sec. 52-259. Court fees. There shall be paid to the clerks for entering each appeal
or writ of error to the Supreme Court, or entering each appeal to the Appellate Court,
as the case may be, two hundred fifty dollars, and for each civil cause in the Superior
Court, two hundred twenty-five dollars, except (1) one hundred twenty dollars for entering each case in the Superior Court in which the sole claim for relief is damages and
the amount, legal interest or property in demand is less than two thousand five hundred
dollars and for summary process, landlord and tenant and paternity actions, and (2) there
shall be no entry fee for making an application to the Superior Court for relief under
section 46b-15 or for making an application to modify or extend an order issued pursuant
to section 46b-15. If the amount, legal interest or property in demand by the plaintiff is
alleged to be less than two thousand five hundred dollars, a new entry fee of seventy-five dollars shall be charged if the plaintiff amends his complaint to state that such
demand is not less than two thousand five hundred dollars. The fee for the entry of a
small claims case shall be thirty-five dollars. If a motion is filed to transfer a small
claims case to the regular docket, the moving party shall pay a fee of seventy-five dollars.
There shall be paid to the clerk of the Superior Court by any party who requests that a
matter be designated as a complex litigation case the sum of two hundred fifty dollars,
to be paid at the time the request is filed. There shall be paid to the clerk of the Superior
Court by any party who requests a finding of fact by a judge of such court to be used
on appeal the sum of twenty-five dollars, to be paid at the time the request is filed. There
shall be paid to the clerk of the Superior Court a fee of seventy-five dollars for a petition
for certification to the Supreme Court and Appellate Court. Such clerks shall also receive
for receiving and filing an assessment of damages by appraisers of land taken for public
use or the appointment of a commissioner of the Superior Court, two dollars; for recording the commission and oath of a notary public or certifying under seal to the official
character of any magistrate, ten dollars; for certifying under seal, two dollars; for exemplifying, twenty dollars; for making all necessary records and certificates of naturalization, the fees allowed under the provisions of the United States statutes for such services;
and for making copies, one dollar a page. There shall be paid to the clerk of the Superior
Court for a copy of a judgment file a fee of twenty-five dollars, inclusive of the fees for
certification and copying, for a certified copy and a fee of fifteen dollars, inclusive of
the fee for copying, for a copy which is not certified; and for a copy of a certificate of
judgment in a foreclosure action, as provided by the rules of practice and procedure,
twenty-five dollars, inclusive of the fees for certification and copying. There shall be
paid to the clerk of the court a fee of one hundred dollars at the time any application for
a prejudgment remedy is filed. A fee of twenty dollars for any check issued to the court
in payment of any fee which is returned as uncollectible by the bank on which it is drawn
may be imposed. The tax imposed under chapter 219 shall not be imposed upon any fee
charged under the provisions of this section.
(1949 Rev., S. 3604; 1955, S. 1972d; November, 1955, S. N195; 1957, P.A. 57, S. 1; 385, S. 1; 1959, P.A. 199; 544;
670, S. 2; 1967, P.A. 628, S. 3; P.A. 74-183, S. 158, 291; P.A. 75-530, S. 4, 35; P.A. 76-368, S. 6, 9; 76-436, S. 560, 681;
P.A. 77-347, S. 9, 11; 77-497, S. 3, 7; 77-576, S. 62, 65; 77-604, S. 61, 70, 84; P.A. 78-379, S. 18, 27; P.A. 79-574; P.A.
80-387, S. 1; P.A. 81-129, S. 2; 81-472, S. 92, 159; Nov. Sp. Sess. P.A. 81-4, S. 26, 32; 81-6, S. 2, 4; P.A. 82-325, S. 3,
6, 7; P.A. 83-196; 83-577, S. 1; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-29, S. 11, 82; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-35, S. 8; P.A. 85-548, S. 5;
P.A. 88-103, S. 1, 4; P.A. 89-219, S. 4, 10; 89-251, S. 189, 203; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6, S. 76, 117; P.A. 93-396, S. 7;
P.A. 94-135, S. 3; P.A. 95-176, S. 4; P.A. 97-309, S. 13, 23; 97-322, S. 7, 9; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-1, S. 104; P.A. 03-2, S. 43; 03-278, S. 102; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 04-2, S. 13.)
History: 1959 acts added exception to charge for second judgment after judgment reopened for cases where reopening
was for court error in prior judgment and where court reopened on own motion, added fee for foreclosure by sale, raised
entry fee in supreme and superior courts from sixteen to twenty-two dollars and in court of common pleas from sixteen to
twenty dollars; 1967 act increased entry fee in supreme and superior courts to forty-five dollars and in common pleas court
to thirty dollars, eliminated fees for recording judgments, taking recognizance or bond for prosecution or special bail,
signing writs of habeas corpus, making records, taking bail bonds and furnishing copies and for orders of notice, and further
provided for furnishing copy of judgment to parties without charge; P.A. 74-183 applied forty-five-dollar fee paid to
superior or supreme court clerks to appeals, reduced fee for entering civil cause in common pleas court from thirty to
twenty dollars and added provision re payment of record fee in appeals from common pleas court to superior court, effective
December 31, 1974; P.A. 75-530 clarified fee provisions, imposed twenty-dollar entry fee in appeals from common pleas
court to superior court and deleted provision which had specified that there is no charge for one plain or certified copy of
judgment to any party to the action, effective June 30, 1975; P.A. 76-368 raised fees for entering civil causes and entry
fee in appeals from common pleas court to superior court by five dollars each, effective July 1, 1976; P.A. 76-436 amended
section to reflect transfer of common pleas court functions to superior court, deleting provisions previously applicable to
actions in common pleas court, and added provisions re cases where entry fee is twenty dollars and re new entry fee for
amended addendum, effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 77-347 raised new entry fee from forty-five to fifty dollars and substituted
"ad damnum" for "addendum" in provision added by P.A. 76-436 and added provisions re fees for entry and transfer of
small claims cases, effective July 1, 1978, through June 30, 1979; P.A. 77-497 restated provision re new entry fee to refer
to amended complaint rather than amended ad damnum, effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 77-576 raised all fees, except fee for
entry of small claims case, record fees in appeals to superior court appellate session and various fees associated with
documentation by five dollars, effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 77-604 made technical correction; P.A. 78-379 reduced record
fee in appeals to superior court appellate session from thirty to twenty-five dollars, correcting a mistake resulting from
misreading of P.A. 77-576, and specified that tax imposed under Ch. 219 does not apply to fees charged under section,
effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 79-574 based fees on amount, legal interest or property in demand equally $2,500 rather than
$7,500, effective October 1, 1979; P.A. 80-387 raised most fees, except those for appeals to superior court appellate session
or for finding of fact or for various charges associated with documentation and except fee for entry of small claims case
(raised from six dollars to eight dollars), by five dollars, effective October 1, 1980; P.A. 81-129 increased the fee for the
entry of a small claims case from eight to ten dollars; P.A. 81-472 made technical changes; Nov. Sp. Sess. P.A. 81-4 raised
fees (1) for entering appeal to supreme court from sixty to seventy-five dollars, (2) for entering appeal to superior court
in exception from thirty-five to forty-five dollars, (3) for new entry fee in amended complaint from sixty to seventy-five
dollars, (4) for transfer of small claims case to regular docket from thirty-five to forty-five dollars and (5) for entry of
appeal in appellate session of superior court from thirty to forty-five dollars; Nov. Sp. Sess. P.A. 81-6 added Subsec. (b)
re collection fees in non-AFDC support cases; P.A. 82-325 changed effective date of Nov. Sp. Sess. P.A. 81-6, S. 2 from
January 27, 1982, to sixty days following effective date of regulations adopted to effectuate purposes of Subsec. (b) enacted
by that act and revised effective date of certain sections of Nov. Sp. Sess. P.A. 81-4 as well but without affecting this
section; P.A. 83-196 amended Subsec. (b) by changing "shall impose" to "may impose", deleting provisions re computation
of amount of collection fee and adding provision that collection fee be in an amount necessary to meet the cost of providing
support services and paid by person against whom the support order was issued; P.A. 83-577 raised fees (1) for appeal to
the supreme court from seventy-five to one hundred dollars, (2) for civil actions from sixty to ninety dollars, (3) for civil
actions where the sole claim is for damages and the amount in demand is less than $2500 and summary process, landlord
and tenant, paternity and support actions from forty-five to fifty-five dollars, and (4) for small claims cases from ten to
twenty dollars; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-29 added reference to appellate court, deleted reference to appellate session of the
superior court and deleted provision re entry fee of forty-five dollars in Subsec. (a); June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-35 amended
Subsec. (a) by providing the entry fee for a small claims case which is a housing matter shall be fifteen dollars; P.A. 85-548 amended Subsec. (b) to make imposition of fee mandatory rather than discretionary to describe fee as an "application"
fee and to provide for determination, payment and reimbursement of such fee which shall not exceed twenty-five dollars,
deleting prior provisions specifying that "collection" fee should meet the cost of providing support services and should be
paid by person against whom an order of support was issued; P.A. 88-103 amended Subsec. (a) by adding Subdiv. (2)
exempting applications to superior court for relief under Sec. 46b-15 from entry fee; P.A. 89-219 raised fees (1) for appeal
to the supreme court or appellate court from one hundred to one hundred fifty dollars, (2) for civil actions from ninety to
one hundred twenty-five dollars, (3) for civil actions where the sole claim is for damages and the amount in demand is
less than twenty-five hundred dollars and summary process, landlord and tenant, paternity and support actions from fifty-five to sixty dollars, and (4) for small claims cases from fifteen to twenty dollars for any housing matter and from twenty
to twenty-five dollars for any other matter; P.A. 89-251 amended Subsec. (b) to increase the maximum fee from twenty-five to thirty dollars; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6 amended Subsec. (a) to increase various fees and to add fees for a copy of
a judgment file, certification and copying an application for a prejudgment remedy; P.A. 93-396 deleted former Subsec.
(b) concerning the state imposition of application fees in non-AFDC child support cases; P.A. 94-135 imposed fee of
seventy-five dollars for petition for certification to supreme court and appellate court and fee of twenty dollars for exemplifying and deleted recording fee for appeals to appellate court; P.A. 95-176 added fee for entering writ of error to Supreme
Court, eliminated seventy-five dollar fee for entering support action, added provision of no entry fee for application to
modify or extend order issued under section 46b-15 and authorized twenty-dollar fee for check to court in payment of fee
returned as uncollectible by bank; P.A. 97-309 increased fee for civil cause in Superior Court from one hundred fifty to
one hundred eighty-five dollars effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 97-322 changed effective date of P.A. 97-309 but without
affecting this section; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-1 raised fee for entry of a small claims case from thirty to thirty-five dollars
and made a technical change, effective July 1, 2002; P.A. 03-2 established fee of two hundred fifty dollars for filing a
request that a matter be designated as a complex litigation case and increased fee for a civil cause in Superior Court from
one hundred eighty-five to two hundred twenty dollars, a civil cause in which the sole claim for relief is damages and the
amount, legal interest or property in demand is less than two thousand five hundred dollars and for summary process,
landlord and tenant and paternity actions from seventy-five to one hundred twenty dollars, a certified copy of a judgment
file from fifteen to twenty-five dollars, an uncertified copy of a judgment file from ten to fifteen dollars, a copy of a
certificate of judgment in a foreclosure action from twenty to twenty-five dollars, and an application for a prejudgment
remedy from fifty to one hundred dollars, effective February 28, 2003; P.A. 03-278 made technical changes, effective July
9, 2003; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 04-2 increased fee for entering each civil cause in the Superior Court from two hundred twenty
dollars to two hundred twenty-five dollars, effective July 1, 2004.
Cited. 135 C. 412. Cited. 194 C. 43, 50. Cited. 223 C. 68, 69, 75. Cited. 237 C. 758.
Cited. 15 CA 185, 189, 192.
Cited. 8 CS 31.
Subsec. (a):
Cited. 223 C. 68, 69, 75, 76, 78.
Sec. 52-259a. Attorneys employed by the state and employees of Judicial Department not required to pay certain fees. Immigration and Naturalization Service
not required to pay fee for certified copy of criminal record. (a) Any member of the
Division of Criminal Justice or the Division of Public Defender Services, any employee
of the Judicial Department, acting in the performance of such employee's duties, the
Attorney General, an assistant attorney general, the Consumer Counsel, any attorney
employed by the Office of Consumer Counsel within the Department of Public Utility
Control, the Department of Revenue Services, the Commission on Human Rights and
Opportunities, the Freedom of Information Commission, the Board of Labor Relations,
the Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities, the Office of the
Victim Advocate or the Department of Social Services, or any attorney appointed by
the court to assist any of them or to act for any of them in a special case or cases, while
acting in such attorney's official capacity or in the capacity for which such attorney was
appointed, shall not be required to pay the fees specified in sections 52-258, 52-259, and
52-259c, subsection (a) of section 52-356a, subsection (a) of section 52-361a, section 52-367a, subsection (b) of section 52-367b and subsection (n) of section 46b-231.
(b) The Immigration and Naturalization Service shall not be required to pay any
fees specified in section 52-259 for any certified copy of any criminal record.
(1959, P.A. 170; 1967, P.A. 515, S. 1; 1969, P.A. 19, S. 1; P.A. 74-183, S. 159, 291; P.A. 76-180, S. 2; 76-436, S. 561,
681; P.A. 77-404; 77-614, S. 164, 610; P.A. 79-334, S. 1, 2; P.A. 80-482, S. 338, 348; 80-483, S. 134, 186; P.A. 83-8; 83-385, S. 1, 3; 83-581, S. 38, 40; P.A. 86-403, S. 115, 132; P.A. 88-22, S. 5; P.A. 89-32; 89-144, S. 16; P.A. 90-213, S. 37,
56; P.A. 92-239, S. 2, 3; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6, S. 77, 117; P.A. 97-203, S. 19, 20; P.A. 01-91, S. 18; 01-211, S. 11;
P.A. 02-132, S. 77; P.A. 03-2, S. 44; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 04-2, S. 14.)
History: 1967 act added prosecuting and assistant prosecuting attorneys and assistant public defenders; 1969 act exempted attorney general and assistant attorney general from fee requirements; P.A. 74-183 deleted reference to fees specified in Sec. 52-257a, that section having been repealed; P.A. 76-180 exempted consumer counsel and attorneys employed
by office of consumer counsel from fee requirements; P.A. 76-436 replaced exemption for the various state's attorneys,
prosecuting attorneys and public defenders with exemption for any member of criminal justice division or public defenders
services, effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 77-404 exempted attorneys employed by commission on human rights and opportunities from fee requirements; P.A. 77-614 replaced office of consumer counsel with division of consumer counsel within
the department of business regulation, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 79-334 exempted attorneys employed by freedom
of information commission from fee requirements; P.A. 80-482 placed division of consumer counsel within newly created
department of public utility control and abolished the department of business regulation; P.A. 80-483 made technical
grammatical correction; P.A. 83-8 included attorneys employed by the state board of labor relations within the fee exemption
provisions of this section; P.A. 83-385 exempted members of the family division of the superior court from the fee requirements and included fees specified in Sec. 52-259c among the fees certain attorneys employed by the state are not required
to pay; P.A. 83-581 included fees specified in "subsection (a) of section 52-356a and subsection (a) of section 52-361a"
among fees certain attorneys are not required to pay; P.A. 86-403 added reference to Subsec. (n) of Sec. 46b-231; P.A.
88-22 substituted office of consumer counsel for division of consumer counsel; P.A. 89-32 exempted attorneys employed
by the office of protection and advocacy for handicapped and developmentally disabled persons from the fee requirement;
P.A. 89-144 substituted the office of protection and advocacy for persons with disabilities for the office of protection and
advocacy for handicapped and developmentally disabled persons; P.A. 90-213 added provision concerning the support
enforcement division; P.A. 92-239 added Subsec. (b) re exemption of immigration and naturalization service from the
payment of fees for copies of criminal records; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6 amended Subsec. (a) to delete reference to Sec.
52-269; (Revisor's note: In 1997 the words "Division of" were inserted editorially by the Revisors in the phrase "Division
of Public Defender Services" for consistency with customary statutory usage); P.A. 97-203 amended Subsec. (a) to add
attorneys employed by the Department of Revenue Services, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 01-91 changed "Support Enforcement Division" to "Support Enforcement Services" in Subsec. (a); P.A. 01-211 amended Subsec. (a) to add attorneys
employed by the Office of the Victim Advocate and make technical changes for purposes of gender neutrality; P.A. 02-132 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing "the Family Division or Support Enforcement Services of the Superior Court" with
"any employee of the Judicial Department, acting in the performance of such employee's duties", adding reference to Sec.
52-259d and making technical changes, effective June 7, 2002; P.A. 03-2 amended Subsec. (a) to exempt any attorney
employed by the Department of Social Services from fee requirements and included fees specified in Secs. 52-367a and
52-367b(b) among fees certain attorneys and employees are not required to pay, effective February 28, 2003; May Sp.
Sess. P.A. 04-2 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting reference to Sec. 52-259d that was repealed by the same act, effective
July 1, 2004.
Cited. 152 C. 503; 154 C. 631, 636.
Sec. 52-259b. Waiver of fees and payment of the cost of service of process for
indigent party. (a) In any civil or criminal matter, if the court finds that a party is
indigent and unable to pay a fee or fees payable to the court or to pay the cost of service
of process, the court shall waive such fee or fees and the cost of service of process shall
be paid by the state.
(b) There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a person is indigent and unable to
pay a fee or fees or the cost of service of process if (1) such person receives public
assistance or (2) such person's income after taxes, mandatory wage deductions and child
care expenses is one hundred twenty-five per cent or less of the federal poverty level.
For purposes of this subsection, "public assistance" includes, but is not limited to, state-administered general assistance, temporary family assistance, aid to the aged, blind and
disabled, food stamps and Supplemental Security Income.
(c) Nothing in this section shall preclude the court from finding that a person whose
income does not meet the criteria of subsection (b) of this section is indigent and unable
to pay a fee or fees or the cost of service of process. If an application for the waiver of
the payment of a fee or fees or the cost of service of process is denied, the court clerk
shall, upon the request of the applicant, schedule a hearing on the application.
(Nov. Sp. Sess. P.A. 81-4, S. 28, 32; P.A. 82-325, S. 3, 7; P.A. 90-261, S. 14, 19; P.A. 99-119; P.A. 04-76, S. 40.)
History: P.A. 82-325 changed effective date of Nov. Sp. Sess. P.A. 81-4 but without affecting this section; P.A. 90-261 made provisions of section applicable "In any civil or criminal matter"; P.A. 99-119 designated existing provisions
as Subsec. (a), added Subsec. (b) establishing a rebuttable presumption of indigency if certain criteria are met, and added
Subsec. (c) providing that nothing precludes a court from finding a person whose income does not meet such criteria is
indigent and requiring the court clerk upon the applicant's request to schedule a hearing on an application for a fee waiver
that has been denied; P.A. 04-76 amended Subsec. (b) by deleting reference to "general assistance".
Sec. 52-259c. Fee to open, set aside, modify, extend or reargue judgment. (a)
There shall be paid to the clerk of the Superior Court upon the filing of any motion to
open, set aside, modify or extend any civil judgment rendered in Superior Court a fee
of thirty-five dollars for any housing matter, a fee of twenty-five dollars for any small
claims matter and a fee of seventy dollars for any other matter, except no fee shall be
paid upon the filing of any motion to open, set aside, modify or extend judgments in
juvenile matters or orders issued pursuant to section 46b-15 or upon the filing of any
motion pursuant to subsection (b) of section 46b-63. Such fee may be waived by the
court.
(b) Upon the filing of a motion to open or reargue a judgment in any civil appeal
rendered by the Supreme Court or Appellate Court or to reconsider any other civil matter
decided in either court, the party filing the motion shall pay a fee of seventy dollars.
(Nov. Sp. Sess. P.A. 81-4, S. 27, 32; P.A. 82-325, S. 1, 3, 7; P.A. 83-577, S. 4; P.A. 89-219, S. 5, 10; May Sp. Sess.
P.A. 92-6, S. 78, 117; P.A. 93-178; 93-396, S. 8; P.A. 95-176, S. 5; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-1, S. 105; P.A. 03-2, S. 45;
03-130, S. 5.)
History: P.A. 82-325 rephrased the section, specified that the fee was payable upon the filing of the motion and that it
applied to motions concerning "civil" judgments, made an exception for judgments in small claims and juvenile matters
and provided that the section was applicable to fees payable on or after February 1, 1982; P.A. 83-577 raised fee from
fifteen to twenty-five dollars; P.A. 89-219 retained fee of twenty-five dollars for any housing matter and increased fee
from twenty-five to fifty dollars for any other matter; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6 amended Subsec. (a) to increase fees and
added new Subsecs. (b) and (c) concerning payment of fees upon the filing of motions for contempt and exceptions from
those fees in child support cases; P.A. 93-178 deleted former Subsecs. (b) and (c) re the fee for filing a motion for contempt
and an exception from the fee in child support cases; P.A. 93-396 would have made Subsec. (c) applicable to non-IV-D
support cases, but failed to take effect since P.A. 93-178 took precedence; P.A. 95-176 amended Subsec. (a) by applying
provisions to extensions of judgments and to specify that no fee will be charged re orders issued pursuant to Sec. 46b-15
and added Subsec. (b) re sixty-dollar fee for filing motion to open, reargue or reconsider judgment in appeal rendered by
Supreme or Appellate Court; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-1 raised filing fees for matters other than housing from sixty to
seventy dollars, effective July 1, 2002; P.A. 03-2 amended Subsec. (a) to delete exemption from filing fee for a motion to
open, set aside, modify or extend judgments in small claims matters and impose a fee of twenty-five dollars upon the filing
of such a motion, effective February 28, 2003; P.A. 03-130 amended Subsec. (a) by adding provision re filing of any
motion pursuant to Sec. 46b-63(b).
Cited. 196 C. 517, 519. Cited. 223 C. 68, 77, 78. Cited. 224 C. 263, 282.
Cited. 10 CA 669, 675. Cited. 31 CA 260, 266.
Sec. 52-259d. Additional fee for civil causes. Section 52-259d is repealed, effective July 1, 2004.
(June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-9, S. 10, 131; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 04-2, S. 112.)
Sec. 52-260. Witness fees. (a) The fees of a witness for attendance before any
court, the General Assembly or any committee thereof, when summoned by the state,
or before any legal authority, shall be fifty cents a day, and for travel to the place of
trial, except as provided in section 54-152, shall be the same amount per mile as provided
for state employees pursuant to section 5-141c. Whenever a garnishee is required to
appear before any court, such garnishee shall receive the same fees as a witness in a
civil action and be paid in the same manner. The clerk of the Superior Court, upon
request, shall, on the day of attendance, pay the fee of any witness summoned by the
state to appear before the court.
(b) When any regular or supernumerary police officer or any regular, volunteer or
substitute firefighter of any town, city or borough is summoned to testify in any criminal
proceeding pending before the Superior Court or the Department of Consumer Protection and the police officer or firefighter receives no compensation from the town, city
or borough by which he is employed for the time so spent by him, the police officer or
firefighter shall be allowed and paid one hundred dollars, together with the mileage
allowed by law to witnesses in criminal cases, for each day he is required to attend the
proceedings.
(c) When any regular or supernumerary police officer or any regular or substitute
firefighter is summoned to testify in his capacity as a police officer or firefighter in any
court in a civil action and the police officer or firefighter receives no compensation from
the municipality by which he is employed for the time he is in attendance at court, there
shall be allowed and paid to the police officer or firefighter a witness fee of one hundred
dollars, together with the mileage allowed by law to witnesses in criminal cases, for
each day he is required to attend court. If the police officer or firefighter testifies in any
such proceeding or civil action on a vacation day or compensatory day off, he shall
be paid the sum of one hundred dollars, together with the mileage allowed by law,
notwithstanding the fact that he is receiving compensation for such day from the town,
city or borough by which he is employed.
(d) The amounts paid under subsections (b) and (c) of this section shall be taxed as
a part of the costs, and shall be in lieu of all other witness fees payable to such police
officer or firefighter.
(e) When any person is confined in a community correctional center upon the allegation of the state's attorney that he will be a material witness in a pending criminal
proceeding, he shall receive, in addition to his legal fees as a witness, two dollars for
each day that he is so confined.
(f) When any practitioner of the healing arts, as defined in section 20-1, dentist,
registered nurse, advanced practice registered nurse or licensed practical nurse, as defined in section 20-87a, or real estate appraiser gives expert testimony in any action or
proceeding, including by means of a deposition, the court shall determine a reasonable
fee to be paid to such practitioner of the healing arts, dentist, registered nurse, advanced
practice registered nurse, licensed practical nurse or real estate appraiser and taxed as
part of the costs in lieu of all other witness fees payable to such practitioner of the healing
arts, dentist, registered nurse, advanced practice registered nurse, licensed practical
nurse or real estate appraiser.
(g) When any public accountant licensed under chapter 389 is subpoenaed by any
party, other than the state, to testify in his capacity as a public accountant in any action
or proceeding, the court shall determine a reasonable fee to be paid to the public accountant and such fee shall be paid by the party issuing such subpoena.
(1949 Rev., S. 3611; 1953, S. 1975d; 1957, P.A. 56; February, 1965, P.A. 574, S. 41; 1967, P.A. 273; 889; 1969, P.A.
297; 397; 720; P.A. 73-596; P.A. 74-183, S. 91, 291; P.A. 75-479, S. 3, 25; P.A. 76-436, S. 137, 681; P.A. 77-614, S. 165,
610; P.A. 78-289, S. 3; P.A. 80-190, S. 12; 80-482, S. 4, 170, 191, 339, 345, 348; P.A. 82-160, S. 131; 82-378; P.A. 83-251; P.A. 85-127; P.A. 86-182; P.A. 95-195, S. 82, 83; P.A. 00-45; P.A. 01-32, S. 1; 01-84, S. 4, 26; 01-186, S. 7; June
30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(d); P.A. 04-169, S. 17; 04-189, S. 1; 04-232, S. 1.)
History: 1965 act deleted obsolete references to criminal court of common pleas, its criminal jurisdiction having been
abolished; 1967 acts provided compensation for policemen testifying in circuit court and added provision re fees paid to
physicians or real estate appraisers for expert testimony; 1969 acts substituted "community correctional center" for "jail",
referred to practitioners of healing arts and dentists rather than to physicians in provision added in 1967 re fees for expert
testimony, authorized compensation for policemen summoned to testify "in any proceeding pending before the juvenile
court", specified that policeman receives minimum witness fee if his attendance is required for less than four hours rather
than two hours and added provision re fee paid to policeman summoned to testify on his regular day(s) off; P.A. 73-596
clarified applicability of provisions concerning policemen to firemen; P.A. 74-183 substituted court of common pleas for
circuit court in provision re fees paid to policemen and firemen, reflecting transfer of circuit court functions to common
pleas court, effective December 31, 1974; P.A. 75-479 replaced previous provisions which had based witness payments
to policemen and firemen on their salaries and had applied only when they were not compensated for serving as witnesses
by the town, city or borough employing them with provisions for payment of set fee of twenty dollars regardless of whether
or not employing town, city or borough is also compensating them and imposed same fee for serving as witness on days
off where previously compensation for service on such days was a minimum witness fee "equivalent to the payment for
eight hours' attendance"; P.A. 76-436 divided section into Subsecs. and removed references to proceedings in court of
common pleas or juvenile court, reflecting transfer of all trial jurisdiction to superior court, effective July 1, 1978; P.A.
77-614 replaced liquor control commission with division of liquor control within the department of business regulation in
Subsec. (b), effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 78-289 raised witness fee for policemen and firemen from twenty to forty
dollars and deleted former Subsec. (e) which had allowed witnesses summoned under Sec. 54-26 fee of two dollars per
day and ten cents per mile for travel to and from court, relettering remaining Subsecs. accordingly; P.A. 80-190 deleted
reference to proceedings before coroner in Subsec. (b); P.A. 80-482 made division of liquor control an independent department following abolition of department of business regulation, cancelling provision of the act which would have placed
the division within the department of public safety; P.A. 82-160 rephrased the section; P.A. 82-378 amended Subsec. (b)
to include witness fees for volunteer firemen; P.A. 83-251 added Subsec. (g) re fees for licensed public accountants; P.A.
85-127 amended Subsec. (f) to authorize payment of witness fees for registered nurse or licensed practical nurse; P.A. 86-182 amended Subsec. (g) to replace "subpoenaed by an adverse party" with "subpoenaed by any party"; P.A. 95-195
substituted Department of Consumer Protection for Department of Liquor Control in Subsec. (b), effective July 1, 1995;
P.A. 00-45 amended Subsec. (a) to replace the fee for travel to the place of trial of "ten cents a mile" with provision that
the fee "shall be the same amount per mile as provided for state employees pursuant to section 5-141c", to delete provision
that a witness in a criminal trial shall receive for travel at said rate for one day only and for each day thereafter for travel
shall be paid only his actual traveling expenses, not exceeding ten cents a mile, to delete provision that prohibited fees
being allowed to bystanders called as witnesses in criminal trials, and to make a technical change for purposes of gender
neutrality; P.A. 01-32 amended Subsec. (f) to replace "is summoned to give expert testimony" with "gives expert testimony",
include the giving of expert testimony "by means of a deposition" and make provisions applicable to testimony by an
advanced practice registered nurse; P.A. 01-84 amended Subsec. (f) to make technical changes, effective July 1, 2001;
P.A. 01-186 amended Subsec. (a) by adding "except as provided in section 54-152" as exception re travel expenses for
witnesses summoned by the state or before any legal authority; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 and P.A. 04-169 replaced
Department of Consumer Protection with Department of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective July 1, 2004;
P.A. 04-189 repealed Sec. 146 of June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture
and Consumer Protection, effective June 1, 2004; P.A. 04-232 amended Subsecs. (b) and (c) to increase the fees paid to
police officers and firefighters from forty to one hundred dollars and amended Subsecs. (b) to (d), inclusive, to make
technical changes.
Cited. 219 C. 204, 207, 208.
Agreement to pay witness more than legal fees will not ordinarily be enforced; exceptional cases considered. 26 CS
463. Statute, as amended, read in conjunction with section 48-12, as amended, entitled property owner to reasonable
appraisal fees in condemnation proceedings. 27 CS 288. Cited. 37 CA 865, 867-869. Legal experts are not included within
enumeration of the categories of experts entitled to discretionary award of expert witness fees. 78 CA 760. Sec. 31-51m
allows for costs, but does not expressly provide for expert witness fees. Therefore, general cost provisions of Sec. 52-257 and this section apply, which do not mention nontestimonial costs. Accordingly, nontestimonial work performed by
plaintiff's economics expert was not taxable as costs. 79 CA 501.
Subsec. (a):
Cited. 219 C. 204, 213.
Subsec. (f):
Cited. 188 C. 213, 215. Cited. 236 C. 710-712, 714, 715, 717. Cited. 239 C. 708.
Cited. 45 CA 305. Nothing in legislative history indicates that legislature's use of term "costs" in either Sec. 31-51m
or 31-51q was intended to authorize court to award prevailing party the cost of an economist. Further, because an economist
is not a listed expert witness whose cost may be reimbursed under general provisions of subsection, plaintiff's expert
economist's testimonial fees cannot be reimbursed. 79 CA 501.
Sec. 52-261. Fees and expenses of officers and persons serving process or performing other duties. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section and section
52-261a, each officer or person who serves process, summons or attachments shall
receive a fee of not more than thirty dollars for each process served and an additional
fee of thirty dollars for the second and each subsequent service of such process, except
that such officer or person shall receive an additional fee of ten dollars for each subsequent service of such process at the same address or for notification of the office of the
Attorney General in dissolution and postjudgment proceedings if a party or child is
receiving public assistance. Each such officer or person shall also receive the fee set by
the Department of Administrative Services for state employees for each mile of travel,
to be computed from the place where such officer or person received the process to the
place of service, and thence in the case of civil process to the place of return. If more
than one process is served on one person at one time by any such officer or person, the
total cost of travel for the service shall be the same as for the service of one process
only. Each officer or person who serves process shall also receive the moneys actually
paid for town clerk's fees on the service of process. Any officer or person required to
summon jurors by personal service of a warrant to attend court shall receive for the first
ten miles of travel while so engaged, such mileage to be computed from the place where
such officer or person receives the process to the place of service, twenty-five cents for
each mile, and for each additional mile, ten cents. For summoning any juror to attend
court otherwise than by personal service of the warrant, such officer or person shall
receive only the sum of fifty cents and actual disbursements necessarily expended by
such officer or person in making service thereof as directed. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, for summoning grand jurors, such officer or person shall receive
only such officer's or person's actual expenses and such reasonable sum for services
as are taxed by the court. The following fees shall be allowed and paid: (1) For taking
bail or bail bond, one dollar; (2) for copies of writs and complaints, exclusive of endorsements, one dollar per page, not to exceed a total amount of nine hundred dollars in any
particular matter; (3) for endorsements, forty cents per page or fraction thereof; (4) for
service of a warrant for the seizure of intoxicating liquors, or for posting and leaving
notices after the seizure, or for the destruction or delivery of any such liquors under
order of court, twenty dollars; (5) for the removal and custody of such liquors so seized,
reasonable expenses, and twenty dollars; (6) for the levy of an execution, when the
money is actually collected and paid over, or the debt or a portion of the debt is secured
by the officer, fifteen per cent on the amount of the execution, provided the minimum
fee for such execution shall be thirty dollars; (7) on the levy of an execution on real
property and on application for sale of personal property attached, to each appraiser,
for each half day of actual service, reasonable and customary expenses; (8) for causing
an execution levied on real property to be recorded, fees for travel, twenty dollars and
costs; (9) for services on an application for the sale of personal property attached, or in
selling mortgaged property foreclosed under a decree of court, the same fees as for
similar services on executions; (10) for committing any person to a community correctional center, in civil actions, twenty-one cents a mile for travel, from the place of the
court to the community correctional center, in lieu of all other expenses; and (11) for
summoning and attending a jury for reassessing damages or benefits on a highway, three
dollars a day. The court shall tax as costs a reasonable amount for the care of property
held by any officer under attachment or execution. The officer serving any attachment
or execution may claim compensation for time and expenses of any person, in keeping,
securing or removing property taken thereon, provided such officer shall make out a
bill. The bill shall specify the labor done, and by whom, the time spent, the travel, the
money paid, if any, and to whom and for what. The compensation for the services shall
be reasonable and customary and the amount of expenses and shall be taxed by the court
with the costs.
(b) Each officer or person shall receive the following fees: (1) For service of an
execution on a summary process judgment, not more than fifty dollars; and (2) for
removal under section 47a-42 of a defendant or other occupant bound by a summary
process judgment, and the possessions and personal effects of such defendant or other
occupant, not more than seventy-five dollars per hour.
(1949 Rev., S. 3622; 1953, S. 1979d; 1959, P.A. 28, S. 178; 152, S. 75; 615, S. 10; 1961, P.A. 122; 311; February,
1965, P.A. 574, S. 42; 1969, P.A. 297; P.A. 74-183, S. 92, 291; P.A. 75-479, S. 1, 25; P.A. 81-80, S. 1; 81-410, S. 5; P.A.
82-160, S. 132; P.A. 91-350, S. 2; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-11, S. 60, 65; P.A. 99-157, S. 3; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-9, S.
69, 131; P.A. 03-224, S. 10.)
History: 1959 acts deleted provisions for attending trials before justice of the peace and excepted state employees in
classified service from payment for arrest in criminal cases; 1961 acts added proviso setting cost of travel at same amount
where one, or more than one, process is served on one person at one time and added fee for setting prisoner at bar of circuit
court for trial on indictment or information; 1965 act deleted reference to setting prisoner at bar of criminal court of common
pleas, its criminal jurisdiction having been abolished; 1969 act substituted "community correctional center" for "jail"; P.A.
74-183 removed reference to personal service of warrant summoning juror "under the provisions of section 51-230" and
replaced circuit court with court of common pleas, reflecting transfer of circuit court functions to common pleas court,
effective December 1, 1974; P.A. 75-479 amended provisions to add proviso allowing increased mileage allowance where
more than one prisoner is transported at same time and to delete reference to fee for setting prisoner at bar of superior court
or court of common pleas for trial on one indictment or information; P.A. 81-80 increased the fee for service of process
to not more than twenty dollars for each process served and an additional five dollars for the second and each subsequent
defendant upon whom process is served, increased the fee for copies of writs and complaints from sixty cents to one dollar
per page; increased the fee for levying an execution from three to six per cent on the amount of execution and exempted
officers or persons who serve process for the state or transport prisoners from the provisions of this section, deleting former
provisions re fees for transporting and holding prisoners, etc.; P.A. 81-410 eliminated provision re fee of two per cent of
execution when execution is levied on the body of the debtor and he is commit