The fee just to file a case in federal Court is $500.00. That does not include the costs of making copies of the complaint which can cost hundreds of dollars depending on the number of pages. If the opposing parties do not waive service, then the cost of hiring process servers or paying federal Marshals to serve the complaint can cost hundreds of dollars more.
Unfortunately, recent surveys have shown that 62% of Americans do not have access to even $500 in cash savings. [1] That means that 62% of Americans would not have access to that same $500 in cash necessary to file a federal lawsuit.
According to the Federal Reserve, [2] “Only 48 percent of respondents said that they would completely cover a hypothetical emergency expense costing $400 without selling something or borrowing money.”
So in order to be able to afford to file a federal lawsuit, the majority of Americans would have to sell something or, if they knew someone who had that kind of money they could possibly borrow it.
It is absolutely shameful, and in my view, unconstitutional, that the filing of a federal court case is financially out of reach for an average American to even file on their own.
[1] http://www.cnbc.com/2015/01/07/60-percent-of-americans-cant-cover-unexpected-expenses.html
[2] http://www.federalreserve.gov/econresdata/2013-report-economic-well-being-us-households-201407.pdf
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