Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2021)

22.   Rules as to costs

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   (1)   The authorised officer shall pay to the claimant the reasonable costs incurred by him or her in or about the preparation and submission of his or her claim, unless the chairperson considers that the claimant has failed to put forward a proper claim within a reasonable time after the service of the notice under section 7 or that the claim put forward is grossly excessive or that he or she has been a party to some deceit or fraud in respect of his or her claim.

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   (2)   Subject to the provisions of subsection (1), where an unconditional offer in writing of any amount as compensation has been made to any claimant by or on behalf of the authorised officer and the sum awarded as compensation does not exceed the amount offered, the chairperson shall, unless for special reasons he or she thinks it proper not to do so, order the claimant to bear his or her own costs and to pay the costs of the authorised officer so far as the costs of the authorised officer were incurred after the offer was made; and, where the claimant has failed to put forward a proper claim in sufficient time to enable the authorised officer to make a proper offer, the foregoing provisions of this section shall apply as if an unconditional offer had been made by or on behalf of the authorised officer at the time when, in the opinion of the Board, a proper claim should have been put forward and the claimant had been awarded a sum not exceeding the amount of such offer.

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   (3)   Subject to the provision of subsection (1), where a claimant has made an unconditional offer in writing to accept any amount as compensation and has put forward a proper claim in sufficient time to enable the authorised officer to make a proper offer, and the sum awarded is equal to or exceeds that amount, the chairperson shall, unless for special reasons he or she thinks it proper not to do so, order the authorised officer to bear his or her own costs and to pay the costs of the claimant so far as the costs of the claimant were incurred after the offer was made.

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   (4)   Subject to the preceding provisions of this section, the costs shall be in the discretion of the chairperson who may direct to and by whom and in what manner those costs or any part thereof shall be paid, and he or she may in any case direct such costs to be taxed by the Registrar of the High Court.

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   (5)   The mode of enforcing any order as to costs shall be in the manner prescribed by the practice of the High Court.

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   (6)   Where the chairperson order the claimant to pay the costs or any part of the costs of the authorised officer, the authorised officer may deduct the amount so payable by the claimant from the amount of any compensation which may be payable to him or her.

Miscellaneous