| | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: |
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| | | Sec. 1. 19-A MRSA §§105 and 106 are enacted to read: |
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| | | §105.__Award and payment of attorney's fees and other fees |
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| | | 1.__Attorney's fees and costs.__In an action under this Title, | | including actions to modify or enforce existing orders, the court | | may, after an opportunity for hearing, order a party, including a | | party in interest, to pay another party or another party's | | attorney reasonable attorney's fees, including costs, for | | participation in the proceedings. |
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| | | 2.__While pending; part of final decision.__In appropriate | | cases, the court may order fees and costs paid while an action is | | pending, including while on appeal, or may make an order as part | | of a final decision in a case. |
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| | | 3.__Fees and expenses of 3rd-party participants.__The court | | may order a party to pay reasonable fees and expenses of 3rd- | | party participants in the proceedings, including guardians ad | | litem, expert witnesses and providers of services, whether | | retained by a party or the court. |
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| | | 4.__Interest; means of collection.__Awards under this section | | are subject to the accumulation of statutory interest and may be | | collected by any means available under law, including, but not | | limited to, remedies available under Title 14 and Title 36, | | section 5276-A.__Additional fees may be assessed in appropriate | | cases when additional fees are incurred for prosecuting | | collection actions. |
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| | | §106.__Exclusion of public |
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| | | 1.__Court order to exclude.__In any action under this Title, | | upon the request of a party, either personally or through the | | party's attorney, the court__shall exclude the public from the | | court proceedings, unless the other party who has entered an | | appearance objects either personally or through the other party's | | attorney.__Even if the other party objects, the court may exclude | | the public from the court proceedings. |
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| | | 2.__Permitted to be present.__If the court excludes the public | | from the court proceedings, only the parties, their attorneys, | | court officers and witnesses may be present. |
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| | | Sec. 2. 19-A MRSA §352, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, | | §2 and affected by Pt. E, §2, is amended to read: |
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