Sumter County Family Court officials began clearing out the old system. They found a woman who owed less than a dollar, and her case almost made its way to court.
For 45-year-old Kathleen Threatt, the trouble began with a simple trip to her mailbox. Signed, sealed and delivered by a deputy to her Wedgefield home was an affidavit from Family Court saying she owed $0.63 in child support.
"I had to apologize to the officer on the phone because I was laughing so hard," she said. "It doesn't make sense."
Threatt called the court thinking it was a misunderstanding, because not only are her children no longer children, but she's also a grandmother by both of them.
She even remembers receiving a letter at the conclusion of her child support duties saying she had paid in full. Somehow, some small change slipped through the cracks and resurfaced nearly 12 years past its due date.
"My problem is the waste of resources," she said. "This is crazy."
"It's a waste, but that's part of what we do, unfortunately," said Sumter County Clerk of Court Jamie Campbell. "We don't have the authority to wipe it away."
He said that each case has to go before a judge even though many cases like Threatt's will be tossed out.
"As we're cleaning up, we're gonna see some instances like this," Campbell said. "Now, we have a chief administrative judge willing to work with us, we'll catch it before it gets out to the individual."
Threatt is just happy to help make sense of the case before it costs anyone else. "It's not like it's a major relief that's gotten taken care of. It's still amazing that it was even brought up in the first place," she added.
Neither Campbell nor Threatt could explain where the $0.63 charge came from, but nonetheless, it's been taken care of.
If you receive a similar summons, officials ask you to call them to figure out the best way to deal with it.
The new case management system is expected to be ready in about a year.
9/16/2008 10:15:34 AM
