Enforcement of Judgment Series MEMORANDUM OF COSTS (MC-012) $1.25 What is a Memorandum of Costs? A Memorandum of Costs is a form you use to tell the court about additions and subtractions to the judgment. On this form, you tell the court what the debtor has paid you already, how much interest you have earned since the judgment was entered, AND what money you have spent in order to collect the judgment. When do I file a Memo of Costs? 1. If you want a Writ of Execution issued that includes your costs, you must file the Memorandum of Costs first. OR 2. If money has been paid by the debtor and you need to notify the court so a correct Writ of Execution can be issued. OR 3. Interest has accrued and you want to collect the interest amount in addition to the original judgment. How do I file a Memo of Costs (1) Complete the form in original and two copies. Instructions on how to complete the form are included in this packet. (2) Provide a self addressed, postage paid envelope for return of your memorandum. (3) Leave the documents in the routine filing basket for processing or submit by mail. The routine filing basket is located in the lobby of Room 107-J at the Hall of Justice. If you leave the documents in this basket, be sure to time stamp the BACK of the first page with the date and time you left the documents. There is a machine that is available in the lobby next to the basket for your use. How do I fill this out, it looks complicated? General instructions and a blank form are in this packet. If you have questions that are not covered by this packet, you should probably seek legal advice. The Self-Help Clinic CVIN-6 [Rev. 1/1/06] MEMORANDUM OF COSTS Page 1 of 8
is available from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at the Courthouse to assist you. You can handwrite your documents, we strongly encourage you to type them. If the clerk cannot read your writing, or cannot completely understand your information it will be rejected as illegible. You may also use the computer in the Law Library to prepare the form on-line or use the accesslaw.com website at home or at another location. (Accesslaw.com is not an official court or government website and Sonoma County Superior Court does not endorse AccessLaw services or products.) What do I do when the Court sends it back? If you want to collect money based on the information in your Memorandum of Costs, you must prepare a Writ of Execution. That form has it s own packet of instructions. Words to Know Judgment Creditor The person, persons or business that won the case. Judgment Debtor The person, persons or business that lost the case. Assignee of Record A person or business that has assumed responsibility for collecting the judgment. There are businesses that will purchase judgments from the winning party and then collect for themselves. The Court does not have any lists of these agencies, nor do we make referrals. These businesses can be found in the yellow pages of the phone book. Writ of Execution A form used to garnish wages, attach a bank account or perform a till tap. This form has a separate packet of instructions, please ask for it if you intend to have the Sheriff or a process server try to collect your judgment for you. CVIN-6 [Rev. 1/1/06] MEMORANDUM OF COSTS Page 2 of 8
Your name, address & phone number Court s Address Sonoma County Superior Court 600 Administration Drive, Room 107-J Santa Rosa, CA 95403 Case Names (same ones used when you started the case) Names used in a Court case cannot be easily changed. It s important to be consistent and continue to use the name in the same manner from the beginning to the end of the case. Some common errors are: Forgetting the middle initial (or adding one that was not used); using a different last name because a marriage or divorce has occurred; or changing the spelling because the person has indicated the name was wrong to begin with. All of these are considered ERRORS by the clerk and will cause your documents to be returned. Case Number Remember to include the Prefix (MSC, MCV or SCV) CVIN-6 [Rev. 1/1/06] MEMORANDUM OF COSTS Page 3 of 8
Enter Dates and Amounts as appropriate. Items a through h are for new costs. If you have filed one of these forms previously in this case, do not include those costs again. Those previously allowed costs will be placed on another part of this form below. If you are unsure if an item is allowed, please seek legal advice. Total your new costs and enter that amount at this block If your new costs are $100.00 or more you must have someone complete the proof of service portion of this form. If the costs are less than $100.00, the proof of service is not necessary. Total all amounts and enter that number here Enter the amount from your LAST memorandum (if applicable) CVIN-6 [Rev. 1/1/06] MEMORANDUM OF COSTS Page 4 of 8
Enter the amount of Credits paid Credits refer to the amount of money that the judgment debtor has already paid you on the judgment. If you have been paid any money since obtaining the judgment, you must declare that here. Enter the current total for Interest Interest on a judgment is 10% per year. To figure your interest use this formula: (Judgment Total) x.10=yearly interest (Yearly interest) 365 = daily interest (Daily Interest) x (# of days since judgment) = Total Interest You must enter the date, your name and sign the Memorandum of Costs Normally you will mark the block for Judgment Creditor An Agent for the Judgment Creditor would be someone who works for a business if the Business was the winner in the case. If you have an Attorney, he or she must submit this form and they would mark the Attorney for Judgment Creditor block. CVIN-6 [Rev. 1/1/06] MEMORANDUM OF COSTS Page 5 of 8
The proof of service is only required if the new costs equal or exceed $100.00. If new costs are less than $100.00, this part of the form may be left blank. The amount of interest and credits do not affect whether or not you need to serve only new costs. Case Title. Normally just the last names of the parties, for example Smith vs. Jones Case Number Remember to include the Prefix (MSC, MCV or SCV) Mark the type of service used Usually this will be sent by mail. Address of the person doing the service This Statement Must be true. The person who signs this proof of service must be an adult and NOT someone involved in this case. That means you cannot do the mailing. You must have someone who is not a witness and has no interest in the matter do the service. If you brought the action as a business, your partner cannot do the mailing he had an interest in whether or not the business gets their money back. You can have a friend or family member do the mailing, as long as they are not involved in this case at all. CVIN-6 [Rev. 1/1/06] MEMORANDUM OF COSTS Page 6 of 8
If served by mail mark this area Mark this if mailed from home or placed in a US mail box or post office Mark this box if mailed with other office or business mail When and where the envelope was mailed. Enter the date the envelope was placed in the mail, and where it was mailed from. Name & Address of the person being served Remember to use the same name used in the case. This should be the same information that was placed on the envelope when it was mailed. If personal delivery, fill out this area Date and time of service When the service occurred. Name of the person being served and the address where they were given the document Remember to use the same name used in the case. CVIN-6 [Rev. 1/1/06] MEMORANDUM OF COSTS Page 7 of 8
The person doing the service must sign this document. This is a declaration under penalty of perjury that person is swearing that they did this service AND that they are over 18 years old and not a party to this action. Your server must enter the date, their name and sign the proof of service CVIN-6 [Rev. 1/1/06] MEMORANDUM OF COSTS Page 8 of 8