55Effect of agreement or determination as to apportionment

#### 55 Effect of agreement or determination as to apportionment 55 Effect of agreement or determination as to apportionment > > (1) An agreement or determination as to apportionment among defendants for the purposes of this Division is conclusively binding on the defendants for the purposes of the settlement, or determination by the Tribunal, of the plaintiff’s claim and payment of the plaintiff’s damages. > > > (2) The agreement or determination is not binding for the purposes of the subsequent determination by the Tribunal of a dispute between defendants as to apportionment in a separate proceeding. > > > (3) A defendant may, within 12 months of the making of an agreement or determination as to apportionment, dispute the contribution that the defendant is liable to make by giving written notice to the other defendants and the registrar. > > > (4) If a defendant disputes the contribution that the defendant is liable to make to damages recovered by the plaintiff and the judgment of the Tribunal in the dispute does not result in the defendant materially improving the defendant’s position, the defendant is liable to pay the costs of each other party to the dispute occasioned by the dispute, assessed on an indemnity basis. > > > (5) Even if the Tribunal’s judgment does not result in the defendant materially improving the defendant’s position, the defendant is not liable to pay costs under subclause (4) if— > > > > > (a) the Tribunal determines that the defendant is not liable on the claim, and > > > > > (b) the ground on which the Tribunal makes that determination is a ground on which the defendant disputed liability on the claim and of which the defendant provided evidence in the defendant’s reply to the claim, and > > > > > (c) the Tribunal determines that the ground was the principal or only ground on which the defendant disputed liability on the claim. > > > (6) To the extent of any inconsistency between this clause and Part 5, this clause prevails. > > > (7) For the purposes of this clause, the defendant is considered to materially improve the defendant’s position only if the Tribunal’s determination of the dispute results in a reduction of the defendant’s contribution of at least 10% of the amount of the defendant’s agreed or determined contribution or $20,000, whichever is the greater.