5Proceedings against and contribution between joint and
several tort-feasors
(1)
Where damage is suffered by any person as a
result of a tort (whether a crime or not):
(a)
judgment recovered against any tort-feasor liable
in respect of that damage shall not be a bar to an action against any other
person who would, if sued, have been liable as a joint tort-feasor in respect
of the same damage,
(b)
if more than one action is brought in respect of
that damage by or on behalf of the person by whom it was suffered, or for the
benefit of the estate, or of the spouse, brother, sister, half-brother,
half-sister, parent or child, of that person, against tort-feasors liable in
respect of the damage (whether as joint tort-feasors or otherwise) the sums
recoverable under the judgments given in those actions by way of damages shall
not in the aggregate exceed the amount of the damages awarded by the judgment
first given; and in any of those actions, other than that in which judgment is
first given, the plaintiff shall not be entitled to costs unless the court is
of opinion that there was reasonable ground for bringing the
action,
(c)
any tort-feasor liable in respect of that damage
may recover contribution from any other tort-feasor who is, or would if sued
have been, liable in respect of the same damage, whether as a joint
tort-feasor or otherwise, so, however, that no person shall be entitled to
recover contribution under this section from any person entitled to be
indemnified by that person in respect of the liability in respect of which the
contribution is sought.
(2)
In any proceedings for contribution under this
section the amount of the contribution recoverable from any person shall be
such as may be found by the court to be just and equitable having regard to
the extent of that person’s responsibility for the damage; and the court
shall have power to exempt any person from liability to make contribution, or
to direct that the contribution to be recovered from any person shall amount
to a complete indemnity.
(3)
For the purposes of this section:
(a)
the expressions “parent” and
“child” have the same meanings as they have for the purposes of
the Compensation to Relatives Act of 1897 as
amended by subsequent Acts, and
(b)
the reference in this section to “the
judgment first given” shall, in a case where that judgment is reversed
on appeal, be construed as a reference to the judgment first given which is
not so reversed and, in a case where a judgment is varied on appeal, be
construed as a reference to that judgment as so varied,
and
(c)
the expression spouse of a person
includes the de facto partner of a person at the time of his or her
death.
Note—
“De facto partner” is defined in
section 21C of the Interpretation Act
1987.
(3A)
For the purposes of this section, where a person
commits a tort and the Crown is vicariously liable under section 8 of the
Law Reform (Vicarious Liability) Act
1983 in respect of that tort, the Crown and the person are
joint tort-feasors.
(4)
Nothing in this section shall:
(a)
apply with respect to any tort committed before
the commencement of this Part, or
(a1)
apply so as to cause the Crown and a person in
the service of the Crown to be joint tort-feasors with respect to a tort to
which section 8 of the Law Reform (Vicarious Liability) Act
1983 applies committed before the day appointed and
notified under section 2 (2) of the Law Reform (Vicarious
Liability) Act 1983, or
(b)
affect any criminal proceedings against any
person in respect of any wrongful act, or
(c)
render enforceable any agreement for indemnity
which would not have been enforceable if this section had not been
passed.
(5)
An amendment made to this section by the Miscellaneous Acts Amendment (Relationships) Act
2002 does not apply in respect of an action where the tort
concerned occurred before the commencement of the
amendment.
s 5: Am 1951 No 59,
sec 6; 1983 No 39, Sch 1; 1984 No 39, sec 3; 2002 No 73, Sch 1.15
[1]–[3]; 2010 No 19, Sch 3.56.