FAIR TRADING ACT 2010 - SECT 49
FAIR TRADING ACT 2010 - SECT 49
49 . Provisions for proceedings Commissioner institutes, defends or assumes conduct or defence of
(1) The following
provisions apply in relation to any proceedings the Commissioner institutes,
defends or assumes the conduct or defence of under section 48 on behalf of a
complainant —
(a) the
Commissioner has, on behalf of the complainant, in all respects the same
rights in and control over the proceedings, including the right to settle any
action or part of any action, as the complainant would have had in the conduct
of those proceedings;
(b) the
Commissioner may, without consulting or seeking the consent of the
complainant, conduct the proceedings in whatever manner the Commissioner
thinks appropriate and proper;
(c) any
moneys (excluding costs) recovered by the Commissioner belong and must be paid
to the complainant without deduction, and any amount awarded against the
complainant must be paid by and is recoverable from the complainant;
(d) in
all cases the costs of the proceedings must be borne by or paid to and
retained by the Commissioner as the case may require;
(e) if
any party to the proceedings files a counterclaim, or if the complainant on
whose behalf the proceedings are being defended is entitled to file a
counterclaim, and that counterclaim is not related to the cause of action, the
court or, as the case requires, the State Administrative Tribunal hearing the
proceedings —
(i)
must, on the application of the Commissioner, order that
the counterclaim be heard separately and that the consumer be a party to the
counterclaim in the complainant’s own right; and
(ii)
may make any other orders or give any directions in that
behalf the court or Tribunal thinks fit.
(2) Any money that the
Commissioner becomes liable to pay by virtue of this section is to be charged
to the Consolidated Account, and this Act, without any further appropriation,
is sufficient authority for the payment of the money.
[Section 49 amended: No. 11 of 2013 s. 10.]