Notices to practitioners
issued by the Qld District Registrar
Order 62 bills of costs (Q4 - September
2001)
Pursuant to Order 62 subrules 46(1)
and (2) of the Federal Court Rules a Registrar shall have
a discretion to decline to give an appointment to tax
a Bill of Costs and instead may have the bill assessed
in accordance with sub-rule 3 which states:-
A taxing officer may, in the absence
of the parties and without making any determination
on the individual items in the bill, make an estimate
of the appropriate total for which, if the bill were
to be taxed, the certificate of taxation would be likely
to issue;
The Registrar will notify each
party interested in the bill in writing of an estimate
made under paragraph (a);
In accordance with Order 62 sub-rule
46(2A) the Registrar must endorse the bill and each
copy of it with the date when the taxing officer is
to make an estimate and return the bill and copies to
the party filing the bill and the party filing the bill
must serve a copy of the bill and the documents mentioned
in sub-rule 40(2) on each other party to the assessment
at least 7 days before the date endorsed on the bill.
Ordinarily, when a bill of costs is
filed in the Queensland registry of the Federal Court,
the District Registrar will direct that a taxing officer,
without making any determination on the individual items
in the bill, make an estimate of the approximate total
for which, if the bill were to be taxed, the certificate
of taxation would be likely to issue.
The District Registrar will endorse
on the bill the date on which it will be considered by
the taxing officer under Order 62 subrule 46(3)(a).
Upon receipt of the service copies
of the bill of costs duly endorsed with the date referred
to above, the party filing the bill must serve the bill
on the other party at least 7 days prior to that endorsed
date. In addition, the endorsement and attachments required
by Order 46 rule 40(2) must also be served on the other
party. Order 46 subrule 40 (2) provides that:-
"There shall be endorsed
on the bill a certificate signed by a solicitor verifying
the additions in it, and there shall be attached to it
or otherwise filed with it in a convenient manner adding
machine or computer slips or working papers together with
originals or legible copies of receipts or disbursements
or, if a disbursement has not been paid, copies of all
relevant accounts".
The party lodging the bill of costs
must inform the registry in writing when the bill has
been served in accordance with the above Rules. The parties
are not required to attend before the taxing officer on
the date endorsed on the bill as the assessment will be
made in the absence of the parties. The parties will receive
written notification from the registry of the amount of
the estimate.
