34MQualifying liabilities

34M Qualifying liabilities

A person (the practitioner) has a qualifying liability in relation to a claim made against the person if: (a) one of the following applies: (i) the liability is under a judgment or order of a court in relation to the claim, being a judgment or order that is not stayed and is not subject to appeal; (ii) the liability is under a settlement of the claim that takes the form of a written agreement between the parties to the claim; (iii) the liability is some other kind of liability of the practitioner (for example, a liability to legal costs) that relates to the claim; and (b) the defence of the claim against the practitioner was conducted appropriately up to the time when: (i) if the liability is under a judgment or order of a court—the date on which the judgment or order became a judgment or order that is not stayed and is not subject to appeal; or (ii) if the liability is under a settlement of the claim—the date on which the settlement agreement was entered into; or (iii) if the liability is some other kind of liability—the date on which the liability was incurred; and (c) if the liability is under a settlement of the claim, or is under a consent order made by a court—a legal practitioner has given a statutory declaration certifying that the amount of the liability is reasonable.

Note: For paragraph (b), see the definitions of defence and conducted appropriately in subsection 4(1).