40GRecovery of costs

40G Recovery of costs (1) A court may make in favour of an assisted person any order for costs that it may otherwise make, even though no amount has been paid or is or will be payable for costs by the assisted person in whose favour the order is made or that the costs so ordered are in excess of the total amount paid or payable for costs by the assisted person. (2) All costs payable under the terms of— (a) a judgment or order; or (b) settlement of an action or claim— to a person who has received litigation assistance in the obtaining of the judgment, order or settlement (except any portion of the costs that may be for services rendered or disbursements paid for that person before litigation assistance was provided) are payable to the trustees. (3) The trustees are entitled to exercise in the name of the assisted person referred to in subsection (2) all rights and remedies in relation to the recovery of the costs referred to in that subsection which that person would be entitled to exercise if the person were not an assisted person. S. 40G(4) amended by No. 35/1996 s. 453(Sch. 1 item 47.11). (4) If— (a) a person is liable to pay costs payable under this section to the trustees; and S. 40G(4)(b) amended by No. 35/1996 s. 453(Sch. 1 item 47.11). (b) the trustees or the legal practitioner acting for the assisted person gives notice to the person referred to in paragraph (a), or the legal practitioner acting for that person, of the rights of the trustees in relation to the costs— the person is not discharged from liability by reason only of making a payment in respect of costs to a person other than the trustees or the legal practitioner for the assisted person. S. 40G(5) amended by No. 35/1996 s. 453(Sch. 1 item 47.12). (5) On the assessment of costs payable to an assisted person under the terms of— (a) a judgment or order; or (b) settlement of an action or claim— no item shall be disallowed merely because the assisted person, by reason of being an assisted person, is under no obligation to pay, wholly or partly, for the service to which the item relates or, in the case of a disbursement (whether for counsel's fees or otherwise) merely because the amount has not been paid before the assessment. S. 40H inserted by No. 22/1996 s. 15, amended by No. 15/2018 ss 39(2), 40(2).