1570                                Laws of Maryland                         [Ch. 836

(2) prior to the entry of such judgment the board shall have been
given notice of intention to enter the judgment and file a claim
thereon against the fund and shall have been afforded an opportunity
to take such action as it shall deem advisable under section 145-O.

(b) If the court, upon a hearing for the allowance of any claim
against the fund, finds that it was a claim which was not assigned
by the board to an insurer in accordance with section 145F, or that
the action upon such claim was not fully and fairly defended, or that
the judgment thereon was entered upon the consent or with the
agreement of the defendant, the court shall allow such claim but shall
order it to be paid only in such sum as the court shall determine to
be justly due and payable out of the fund, on the basis of the actual
amount of damages for which the defendant was liable to the plaintiff
under the cause of action upon which the judgment was rendered,
subject to the limitations stated in section 145M, notwithstanding
that the judgment is for a greater amount.

145-O. Defense of default actions.

(a)   When the board receives notice, as provided in section 145M,
the insurer to which such action has been assigned may through
counsel enter an appearance, file an answer, appear at the trial,
defend the action or take such other action as it may deem appro-
priate on the behalf and in the name of the defendant, and take re-
course to any appropriate method of review on behalf of, and in the
name of, the defendant.

(b)  In the event that the time allowed for filing an answer has
expired or judgment has been entered by default in any such action,
the insurer to which the action has been assigned shall be granted a
reasonable time after the receipt of notice by the board to answer or
to make application for relief against the judgment and leave to
answer and defend such action.

145P. Collusive judgments. No claim against the fund shall be
allowed in any case in which the court shall find, upon the hearing
for the allowance of the claim, that the judgment upon which the
claim is founded was obtained by fraud, or by collusion of the plain-
tiff and of any defendant in the action, relating to any matter affect-
ing the cause of action upon which such judgment is founded or the
amount of damages assessed therein.

145Q. Assignments of judgments to treasurer. The treasurer
shall not pay any sum from the fund, in compliance with an order
made for that purpose, in any case in which the claim is founded upon
a judgment, except a judgment obtained against the commissioner
under this sub-title, until the applicant assigns the judgment to the
commissioner, and, thereupon, the commissioner shall be deemed to
have all the rights of the judgment creditor under the judgment and
shall be entitled to enforce the same for the full amount thereof with
interest and costs, and if more money is collected upon any such
judgment than the amount paid out of the fund, the commissioner
shall pay the balance, after reimbursing the fund, to the judgment-
creditor.

145R. "Hit-and-run" cases.

(a) When the death of, or personal injury to, any person arises
out of the ownership, "maintenance or use of a motor vehicle in this