Queensland Consolidated Acts

LEGAL PROFESSION ACT 2007 - SECT 335

335 Application by clients or third party payers for costs assessment

(1) A client may apply for an assessment of the whole or any part of legal costs.

(2) A third party payer may apply for an assessment of the whole or any part of legal costs payable by the third party payer.

(3) The costs application may be made even if the legal costs have been wholly or partly paid.

(4) If any legal costs have been paid without a bill, the client or third party payer may nevertheless make the costs application.

(5) A costs application by a client or a third party payer must be made within 12 months after—

(a) the bill was given, or the request for payment was made, to the client or third party payer; or

(b) the costs were paid if neither a bill was given nor a request was made.

(6) However, a costs application made out of time, otherwise than by any of the following, may be dealt with by a costs assessor or a court if, under the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules , the assessor or the court decides to deal with it after considering the reasons for delay—

(a) a sophisticated client;

(b) a third party payer who would be a sophisticated client if the third party payer were a client of the law practice concerned.

(7) If the third party payer is a non-associated third party payer, the law practice must provide the third party payer, on the written request of the third party payer, with sufficient information to allow the third party payer to consider making, and if thought fit to make, a costs application.

(8) If there is an associated third party payer for a client of a law practice—

(a) nothing in this section prevents—

(i) the client from making 1 or more costs applications in relation to costs for which the client is solely liable; and

(ii) the associated third party payer from making 1 or more costs applications in relation to costs for which the associated third party payer is solely liable;

and those costs applications may be made by them at the same time or at different times and may be dealt with jointly or separately; and

(b) the client or the associated third party payer—

(i) may participate in the costs assessment process where the other of them makes a costs application in relation to costs for which they are both liable; and

(ii) is taken to be a party to the assessment and is bound by the assessment; and

(c) the law practice—

(i) must participate in the costs assessment process if a costs application is made under subsection (2) by the associated third party payer in the same way as the law practice must participate in the process if an application is made under subsection (1) by a client; and

(ii) is taken to be a party to the assessment and is bound by the costs assessment.

(9) If there is a non-associated third party payer for a client of a law practice—

(a) nothing in this section prevents—

(i) the client from making 1 or more costs applications in relation to costs for which the client is liable; and

(ii) the non-associated third party payer from making 1 or more costs applications in relation to costs for which the non-associated third party payer is liable;

and those applications may be made by them at the same time or at different times but must be dealt with separately; and

(b) the client—

(i) may participate in the costs assessment process if the non-associated third party payer makes a costs application under subsection (2) in relation to the legal costs for which the non-associated third party is liable; and

(ii) is taken to be a party to the assessment and is bound by the assessment; and

(c) the law practice—

(i) must participate in the costs assessment process; and

(ii) is taken to be a party to the assessment; and

(d) despite any other provision of this division, the assessment of the costs payable by the non-associated third party payer does not affect the amount of legal costs payable by the client to the law practice.

(10) Subject to this section, a costs application under subsection (1) or (2) must be made in the way provided under the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules .

(11) In this section—

"client" includes the following—

(a) an executor or administrator of a client;

(b) a trustee of the estate of a client.

"third party payer" includes the following—

(a) an executor or administrator of a third party payer;

(b) a trustee of the estate of a third party payer.