THAILAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Chusert Supasitthumrong, John Frangos, Alongkorn Tongmee and Eric Meyer, Tilleke & Gibbins
3.8 Requirements for Cost Estimate There are no requirements to provide clients with cost estimates at the outset of potential litigation.
when it sees that it has a legal interest in the result of a case. By request from the existing parties in the case, inter- ested parties may also be called to join the case as co-defendants. 4.5 Applications for Security for Defendant’s Costs A defendant can apply for an order requiring the plain- tiff to pay a sum of money as security for the defend- ant’s costs. This is often sought when the plaintiff is a non-resident, with the goal of ensuring that the defendant can recover legal costs if the plaintiff loses the case and fails to pay. The security serves as pro- tection against the potential risk of non-payment by an overseas plaintiff. 4.6 Costs of Interim Applications/Motions A Thai court will not award costs for filing or respond- ing to an interim motion. Each party will bear its own costs for these. However, the court may order the requesting party to place a monetary guarantee for any damages that might occur as a result of the inter- im order. 4.7 Application/Motion Timeframe As mentioned in 4.1 Interim Applications/Motions , interim motions in Thailand will take the form of a peti- tion for a temporary order or an injunction. A Thai court would typically take approximately two weeks to one month to consider an application for non-emergency interim relief, but this will depend on the circumstanc- es of the case and on the court’s schedule. If the court deems it necessary for due process purposes, it may also schedule a hearing to examine the matter further before issuing a decision. In case of emergency, an emergency motion can also be filed together with a petition for temporary order or injunction. Examples of an emergency are when the defendant intends to remove or transfer the property in dispute, or when the defendant intends to repeat or continue the wrongful act or the breach of contract. The court would normally consider the emergency petition on the same date that the emergency peti- tion and the injunction petition are filed.
4. Pre-Trial Proceedings 4.1 Interim Applications/Motions
It is possible for a party to make an interim applica- tion/motion before trial or substantive hearing of a claim. These would take the form of a petition for a temporary order or an injunction. Such applications are not limited to only case management issues. If the court determines that the petitioning party meets the applicable requirements, the party may also obtain interim remedies from the court. 4.2 Early Judgment Applications Before trial or substantive hearing of a claim, a party can make an application raising a question of law which, if decided in favour of such party, would lead to the trial being discontinued or non-consideration of any significant issue of the case, or even if that significant issue was further considered, it would not make the case more apparent. In such case, the court has the power to consider the question of law and preliminarily render its decision on that question prior to further proceeding with trial. The application could be made at any time from the beginning of the case, but will typically be made before trial, as it would result in the early dismissal of the case. 4.3 Dispositive Motions Dispositive motions that are commonly made before trial by a defendant include those arguing that the claim should be barred based on the prescription period, that the complaint is unclear, or that the case should be dismissed based on the existence of an arbitration clause in the contract at issue. 4.4 Requirements for Interested Parties to Join a Lawsuit An interested party not named as a plaintiff or defend- ant could join a lawsuit by filing an interpleader appli- cation either as a third party when it sees that it is necessary to do so to protect or enforce its own rights related to the matter, or as a co-plaintiff/defendant
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