Rule 2155.Liability for costs.

The rule separates the association’s debts from the people who act for it or belong to it. No trustee ad litem and no individual member is liable to pay a money judgment entered against the association as such.

Costs are treated differently. A trustee ad litem representing a plaintiff association is liable for any costs taxed against the association. So is a trustee ad litem representing a defendant association that asserts a counterclaim or setoff. The trustee answers for costs, in other words, when the association has pressed a claim of its own, by suing or by asserting a counterclaim or setoff.

The rule pairs with Rule 2158, under which a judgment against the association supports execution upon the association’s property, and with Rule 2153(c), which lets a plaintiff join members individually to enforce any individual liability they have. Rule 2038 draws a similar line between judgments and costs for a minor’s guardian.