Legal Practitioners.
General Provisions as to Remuneration.
58. (1) The jurisdiction of the court to make orders for the delivery by a solicitor of a bill of costs and for the delivery up of, or otherwise in relation to, any deeds, documents or papers in his possession, custody or power, is hereby declared to extend to cases in which no business has been done by him in the court.
(2) In this section and in sections 59, 60 and 61, "solicitor" includes the executors, administrators and assignees of the solicitor in question.
[CAP. 159
Power to order delivery of deeds.
Court to order bill and
22 and 23 Geo. 5 c. 37, s. 64.
Action to recover costs.
22 and 23 Geo. 5 c. 37, s. 65.
59. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, no action shall be brought to recover any costs due to a solicitor until one month after a bill thereof has been delivered in accordance with the requirements of this section: Provided that, if there is probable cause for believing that the party chargeable with the costs is about to quit the Colony, or become a bankrupt, or to compound with his creditors or to do any other act which would tend to prevent or delay the solicitor obtaining payment, the court may, notwithstanding that one month has not expired from the delivery of the bill, order that the solicitor be at liberty to commence an action to recover his costs and may order those costs to be taxed.
(2) The said requirements are as follows:
(a) the bill must be signed by the solicitor or, if the costs are due to a firm, one of the partners of that firm, either in his own name or in the name of the firm, or be enclosed in, or accompanied by, a letter which is so signed and refers to a bill; and
(b) the bill must be delivered to the party to be charged therewith, either personally or by being sent to him by post to, or left for him at, his place of business, dwelling house or last known place of abode, and where a bill is proved to have been delivered in compliance with those requirements, it shall not be necessary in the first instance for the solicitor to prove the contents of the bill and it shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown, to be a bill bona fide complying with this Ordinance.
245