Personal assistance allowance paid during litigation: proceedings end, but INPS bears the costs

Payment of a benefit during proceedings may remove the need for a ruling on the merits, while leaving costs for the judge to decide. In judgment No. 47 of 8 January 2025, the Tribunal of Foggia examined when the steps necessary to obtain payment of the personal assistance allowance had been completed.

Medical eligibility had been recognised by an approval order of 5 March 2024, served on INPS that day. The AP70 form containing the required socio-economic information was submitted the following day. Once the period considered in the judgment had elapsed, proceedings were brought to obtain payment.

During the case, INPS communicated acceptance of the administrative application and paid the allowance with effect from 1 October 2022. As the amount was not disputed, the Tribunal found that there was no longer a need for a substantive decision on the claim.

For costs, it assessed which party would otherwise have lost. Payment after service of the claim confirmed that the demand was well founded. The judge did not regard INPS’s delay as excusable, since proceedings had been commenced after the 120 days calculated, in this case, from submission of the AP70 form.

The Tribunal declared that the substantive dispute had ended and ordered INPS to pay the costs. It refused an additional fee for hyperlinks because they did not work. The decision thus separates the merits of the payment claim from the independent assessment required for each component of legal costs.

View the court decision (PDF) ↗

https://studiolegalecelentano.com/en/news/payment-beyond-120-days-and-litigation-costs