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Limitation on amount of plaintiff's costs in certain High Court actions.
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12.—(1) The following provisions shall have effect in relation to the amount of the costs recoverable by the plaintiff in an action commenced and heard in the High Court, that is to say:—
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(a) in any action of tort or of breach of promise of marriage, where the amount of the damages recovered by the plaintiff is not less than one hundred pounds and not more than three hundred pounds the plaintiff shall not be entitled to recover more costs than he would have been entitled to recover if the action had been brought in the Circuit Court, unless the judge hearing the action grants a special certificate under this section;
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(b) in any action of tort or of breach of promise of marriage, where the amount of the damages recovered by the plaintiff is less than one hundred pounds the plaintiff shall not be entitled to recover more costs than whichever of the following amounts is the lesser, that is to say, the amount of such damages or the amount of costs which he would have been entitled to recover if the action had been brought in the Circuit Court, unless the judge hearing the action grants a special certificate under this section;
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(c) in any action founded on contract (other than actions for the recovery of a liquidated sum) or for damages for breach of contract (other than for breach of promise of marriage), where the amount recovered by the plaintiff does not exceed three hundred pounds the plaintiff shall not be entitled to recover more costs than he would have been entitled to recover if the action had been brought in the Circuit Court unless the judge hearing such action grants a special certificate under this section;
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(d) in any action for the recovery of a liquidated sum, where the amount recovered by the plaintiff exceeds one hundred pounds but does not exceed three hundred pounds the plaintiff shall not be entitled to recover more costs than he would have been entitled to recover if the action had been brought in the Circuit Court, unless the judge hearing such action grants a special certificate under this section;
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(e) in any action for the recovery of a liquidated sum, where the amount recovered by the plaintiff exceeds twenty-five pounds but does not exceed one hundred pounds, the plaintiff shall not be entitled to recover more costs than he would have been entitled to recover if the action had been brought in the Circuit Court;
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(f) in any action for the recovery of a liquidated sum, where the amount recovered by the plaintiff does not exceed twenty-five pounds the plaintiff shall not be entitled to recover more costs than he would have been entitled to recover if the action had been brought in the District Court;
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(g) in any action of ejectment, where such action is within the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court the plaintiff shall not be entitled to recover more costs than he would have been entitled to recover if the action had been brought in the Circuit Court, unless the judge hearing such action grants a special certificate under this section.
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(2) In any action referred to in the next preceding sub-section of this section in relation to which the grant of a special certificate by the judge is mentioned, the judge hearing such action may, on the application of the plaintiff, grant a special certificate in writing that, in the opinion of such judge, it was reasonable, owing to the substantial or important nature of the action or the importance of any question of law involved therein that the action should have been commenced in the High Court.
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(3) It shall not be lawful for rules of court to contain or impose any restriction on the amount of the costs recoverable by any party from any other party in any action or other proceeding, but nothing in this sub-section shall prevent the insertion in rules of court of a restriction on the amount of the costs recoverable which is identical with a restriction imposed by this section nor the fixing by rules of court of the amount recoverable by any person as and for the costs and expenses incurred by him in the doing of any specified thing in any particular form of action or other proceeding.
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