Unless I'm sadly mistaken, the loser has to pay the costs of suit.  At least that's what I remember from my prior experience.  A few years back, I took someone to District Court and got a judgment against them after a traffic incident that caused a couple thousand dollars damage to my car.  If memory serves, the Defendant had to pay my costs in addition to the award.  I think the filing fees range from about $40.00 to $80.00 plus a fee for service of the Complaint.

Sometimes just the threat of going to Court is enough to motivate a slow-paying client to fork over the cash.  Just a thought.  Let me know how it works out for you.

Regards,
Scott