§ 138. Captain Crowderasked the Attorney-General if he will consider some means whereby the costs of county court cases can be substantially reduced, having regard to the large increase in the number of applications for eviction orders which are now being taken to the county court by property owners who wish to regain possession of their property, as a result of which a tenant defending his case often has to meet high legal costs which are beyond his means.
The Solicitor-GeneralIn possession cases in the county court the county court judge has complete discretion as to the scale in which costs should be paid. In practice costs in such cases are awarded on a very low scale, in the majority of cases, either Scale A of the higher scale, or Part II of the lower scale, and in such cases some of the costs incurred by a successful plaintiff may have to be borne by himself. Moreover, the party ordered to pay costs may apply for time to pay and an order may then be made for payment by instalments. This being so, I do not think there is a case for treating the question of costs in county court possession cases, independently, or in priority to, the general question of costs in the other types of litigation.