(1) The court may make an order for an interim payment only if —
(a) the defendant against whom the order is sought has admitted liability to pay damages or some other sum of money to the claimant;
(b) the claimant has obtained an order for an account to be taken as between the claimant and the defendant and for judgment for any amount certified due on taking the account;
(c) the claimant has obtained judgment against that defendant for damages to be assessed or for a sum of money (including costs) to be assessed;
(d) (except where paragraph (3) applies), it is satisfied that, if the claim went to trial, the claimant would obtain judgment against the defendant from whom an order for interim payment is sought for a substantial amount of money or for costs; or
(e) the following conditions are satisfied —
(i) the claimant is seeking an order for possession of land (whether or not any other order is also being sought), and
(ii) the court is satisfied that, if the case went to trial, the defendant would be held liable (even if the claim for possession fails) to pay the claimant a sum of money for rent or for the defendant's use and occupation of the land while the claim for possession was pending.
(2) In addition, in a claim for personal injuries, the court may make an order for the interim payment of damages only if the defendant is —
(a) a person whose means and resources are such as to enable that person to make the interim payment;
(b) insured in respect of the claim; or
(c) a public authority.
(3) In a claim for damages for personal injuries where there are two or more defendants, the court may make an order for the interim payment of damages against any defendant if —
(a) it is satisfied that, if the claim went to trial, the claimant would obtain judgment for substantial damages against at least one of the defendants (even if the court has not yet determined which of them is liable); and
(b) paragraph (2) is satisfied in relation to each defendant.
(4) The court must not order an interim payment of more than a reasonable proportion of the likely amount of the final judgment.
(5) The court must take into account —
(a) contributory negligence (where applicable); and
(b) any relevant set-off or counterclaim.