Class Action Challenges Mandatory Electronic Filing
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Questions regarding whether LexisNexis Courtlink is licensed to do business in Georgia and the location of its registered agent prompted attorney Steven J. Newton to amend his complaint against the company and Fulton County State and Superior Court officials. Newton filed the federal class-action in June, claiming LexisNexis Courtlink and the court officials are running an illegal, mandatory, electronic filing system.
Newton contends that filings in Fulton County State and Superior Courts, filed through the LexisNexis File & Serve system, can cost up to $11 per filing in cases for which electronic filing is mandated by orders from Fulton County State and Superior Courts, and authorized by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners.
Shortly after filing the complaint in June, Newton said he realized the location of the registered agent of LexisNexis Courtlink had changed since he filed the original lawsuit in December 2007.
Newton withdrew his original lawsuit in March. He said that defendants' attorneys told him that LexisNexis Courtlink no longer existed in Georgia. After checking the Secretary of State Web site, Newton said, he saw that LexisNexis Courtlink had filed a certificate of withdrawal on Jan. 15, and was no longer licensed to do business in Georgia.
But Newton said the company continues to do business in Georgia, as he still receives invoices from it, and the company recently conducted training sessions in Atlanta. So, Newton said, he amended the first complaint to state that LexisNexis Courtlink can be served at the Atlanta address where it held training, or in Newton, Mass.
Attorneys for the defendants have requested more time to respond to the amended complaint. Newton said no additional time should be granted.
"It's pretty much the same complaint I filed (months ago,)" he said.
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