Tort Claims Rules of the
N.C. Industrial Commission

ARTICLE II. CLAIMS PROCEDURES

Rule T202
Filing Fees

1. No claim shall be accepted for filing with the Industrial Commission which is not accompanied by an attorney’s check, certified check, money order, or electronic transfer of funds in payment of a filing fee in an amount equal to the filing fee required for the filing of a civil action in the Superior Court division of the General Court of Justice.
    
2. The provisions of paragraph (1) above notwithstanding, a claim which is accompanied by a Petition to Sue as an Indigent shall be accepted for filing upon the date of its receipt.
    
3. A Petition to Sue as an Indigent shall consist of the following:
    
   1. An affidavit sufficient to satisfy the provisions of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-110, stating that plaintiff is unable to comply with subsection (1) of this Rule.
       
   2. If the plaintiff is an inmate in the North Carolina Department of Correction, a report by the Department of Correction stating the balance of plaintiff’s prison trust account, together with an accounting of all credits to and withdrawals from that trust account during the prior six (6) months.
       
4. The granting or denial of permission to sue as an indigent shall be in the sole discretion of the Industrial Commission.
    
5. If, in the discretion of the Industrial Commission, it is determined that plaintiff is able to pay all or any part of the fees assessed under this Rule, an Order shall be issued directing payment of all or any part of that fee, and the plaintiff shall, within 30 days from his receipt of the Order, forward to the Industrial Commission an attorney’s check, certified check, money order, or electronic fund transfer for the full amount which is required to be paid. Failure to submit the required amount of the filing fee within this time shall result in the claim being dismissed without prejudice.
    
6. Upon consideration of an inmate’s Petition to Sue as an Indigent, the Industrial Commission may determine that the inmate's tort claim is frivolous and dismiss the claim pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-110. Appeals from the dismissal of a claim pursuant to this statute shall proceed directly to the Full Commission and shall be decided without oral argument. The Commission shall forward a copy of the file to the Attorney General’s Office without cost upon plaintiff’s notice of appeal to the Full Commission.

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