Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 12-29

legal process.

A. It is the duty of the clerk of each of the courts to file

together and carefully preserve in his office, all papers delivered

to him for that purpose, except as provided in subsection B of this

section, in every action or special proceeding.

B. The court clerk may refuse to file any document presented

for filing if the clerk believes that the document constitutes sham

legal process, as defined by Section 1533 of Title 21 of the

Oklahoma Statutes.

C. 1. Any person aggrieved by the refusal of a court clerk to

file any document provided for in subsection A of this section may

petition the district court for a writ of mandamus to compel the

clerk to file the tendered document.

2. At the time of refusal, the person aggrieved shall file a

notice of refusal with the court clerk for the purpose of tolling

any applicable statute of limitations in the event the person

prevails in any action so commenced, if the person wishes for the

statute of limitations to be tolled. The refusal notice shall be

submitted on a form provided by the court clerk, but must be filled

out by the aggrieved party. A copy of the instrument that the clerk

refused to file must be attached to the notice of refusal. The

court clerk shall stamp the date of refusal on the notice of

refusal.

The refusal notice shall be in the following form:

STATE OF OKLAHOMA

__________ COUNTY

NOTICE OF REFUSAL

The Office of Court Clerk of __________ County, Oklahoma, has on

__________ (date) refused to file a document designated ___________

(title of document or brief description of document). A copy of the

refused document must be attached to this notice of refusal or the

clerk cannot accept it for filing.

Signed:_____________ Signed: ________________________

Court Clerk Aggrieved party or attorney

for aggrieved party

_______County, Oklahoma

Address:__________________

__________________________

3. The action for mandamus must be filed with the district

court within twenty (20) days after the notice of refusal is filed

with the county clerk. If the writ of mandamus is granted, the

court clerk shall refund the fee for filing the action. Notice of

the pendency of a mandamus action filed pursuant to this section

shall be filed in accordance with Section 2004.2 of this title. If

the court determines that the tendered document is not sham legal

process, the court shall order the clerk to file the tendered paper

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 12. Civil Procedure Page 38

or papers. For any instrument which the court orders to be filed

pursuant to this subsection, the date of filing shall be retroactive

to the date the notice of refusal was filed.

D. If a court clerk improperly files or refuses to file a

document provided for in subsection B of this section, the clerk

shall be immune from liability for such action in any civil suit.

E. A clerk shall post a sign, in letters at least one (1) inch

in height, that is clearly visible to the general public in or near

the clerk's office stating that it is a felony to intentionally or

knowingly file or attempt to file sham legal process with the clerk.

Failure of the clerk to post such a sign shall not create a defense

to any criminal or civil action based on sham legal process.

R.L. 1910, § 5329. Amended by Laws 1997, c. 405, § 2, emerg. eff.

June 13, 1997.