The filing fees for motions are set by the court. Currently, for unlimited civil cases in Los Angeles Superior Court, the filing fee for motions or ex parte applications (other than motions for summary judgment or for summary adjudication) is $60. The fee for filing motions for summary judgment and/or for summary adjudication is $500. The filing fee is high because these are complex, long motions that typically require various sets of documents to comply with the state court rules and require a significant amount of time by the court because the motions are seeking dismissal of the lawsuit and/or particular claims. In addition, all motions must be served on the other parties which will include the costs of copies and depending on the manner of service (i.e. personal, mail, fax or email), the costs of delivering the copies. Also, due to budgetary issues, the courts do not routinely provide court reporters to transcribe the court proceedings. In Los Angeles Superior Court, court reporter fees range from $30 for one hour or less to $764 for four hours or more.
