The Guideline Hourly Rates changed on 1st January 2026. These are set out below. The 2025 and 2024 rates can be found underneath. Guideline hourly rates 2026 (with previous year’s rates in brackets) Grade Fee Earner London 1 London 2…
This section looks at decisions in relation to relief from sanctions and the general principles of CPR 3.9. Often there are links to the decisions themselves, together with links to posts on this blog. CASES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER 2026 February…
Here we have an unusual case where, on appeal, a costs decision in favour of a defendant was overturned on the basis that that there was no good reason not to apply the normal principle that “the loser pays”. “There…
This judgment contains a neat summary of the approach that the court takes when it is faced with a case that rests primarily on witness evidence. The judge reviewed the case law and it was very relevant to the task…
Here we have a case where the judge held that the defendant was bound by an admission made by its own insurer. The defendant was refused permission to withdraw from that admission and the claimant granted summary judgement. “I am…
Here we have a case as to service when the claimant was successful. There were issues as to service as to the correct address and the correct means of service in Spain. The claimant adduced evidence from a Spanish lawyer…
This judgment considers issues relating to the liability of costs, reasons why “mixed” success should lead to a reduction and the appropriate quantum for costs on a summary assessment. There are also interesting issues here in relation to hourly rates…
We don’t normally look at the same case twice in the same day. However this particular judgment needs looking at from different angles. The previous post looked at the case from the point of view of the pleadings. However the…
Here we have a case where the judge refused the claimant permission to amend the Particulars of Claim in circumstances where it was conceded that the current pleading was “untenable”. There are important lessons here for everyone involved in preparing…
The issue of what is appropriate dress for court is a very basic one. It has, in the past, sported controversy. However correct and appropriate dress is important, it helps the litigants. It pays to remember that some clients…
In this case the Court of Appeal, in a judgment that is eviscerating in parts, makes the point that, in some areas of practice, the List of Issues, effectively replace the pleadings. Further it has strong words to say about…
In May 2020 we were in the grip of the COVID crisis. Many of the posts from that period deal with issues arising from COVID, including a series (“The (Not So) Lonely Litigator’s Club – which looked at how people…
The opening lines of judgments sometimes disclose an epic saga of litigation. This is certainly the case here. A case that may well replace Jarndyce -v- Jarndyce as the classic example of lengthy (and presumably expensive) litigation – with quite a…
Yesterday I wrote how little support there seemed to be for those attending civil courts to give evidence. I have since found some useful guidance and here are the links. I will be more than pleased if people write in…
One of the (many) things that litigators need to keep an eye on in years to come is the circumstances in which the courts depart from fixed costs regimes. If this happens too readily then the purpose of the regime…
Legal professionals attend court as a matter of routine. It is all too easy to forget how alien courts can be to most of the population. Witnesses are asked to attend court and often attend with no idea of what…
This is another case that highlights the evidential difficulties of establishing exposure in asbestos cases. The principal victim is often dead, the claimant (usually a widow) cannot give direct evidence of the facts of exposure and the case is reliant…
Anyone going through a detailed assessment of costs can look ruefully at this judgment about costs in arbitration proceedings. The arbitrator awarded $26 million in costs based on very scant information. As it turns out the courts had no power…
There are several matters of interest in this judgment given last Friday. Firstly that allegations of fraudulent conduct were made when those assertions had not been pleaded. Secondly the judge was critical of the attempt to cross-examine witnesses on the…
Normally there are no posts on bank holidays. But this subject is apposite. If you are having a day off today, what impact does a bank holiday have on the computation of time. COMPUTATION OF TIME AND BANK HOLIDAYS…
The webinar on Mastering PD57AC – Getting Witness Statements Right in the Commercial Courts is now available “on demand”. You can watch it at your leisure. Booking details are available here. The webinar includes a series of checklists and a…
The guidance given in this case is obviously of interest to those who practice in the Court of Protection (as practitioner or expert). However some of the points made here are of general interest. In particular in relation to the…
We are going back to 2016 to look at a post about a case where the judge had noted that “both sides engaged in an aggressive and uncooperative correspondence that served only to heighten their mutual suspicion to newly raised…
We have another case where the judge considers the use of Artificial Intelligence in the preparation of witness statements. It was held that there was no good reason for this. He was concerned that ChatGPT had contributed to the witness…
In this case the judge granted permission to appeal when the appeal notice was lodged 25 days out of time. Not only is this an example of the court using its discretion under Denton and taking into accounts issues with…
Here we have a rare case where the Court of Appeal overturns a decision of the first instance judge to allow a party to amend their pleadings. There is a detailed analysis of why the proposed amendments were deficient. “I…
This case is interesting for several reasons. Firstly the judge considers whether the court has power to order security for costs in a detailed assessment. Secondly there are some interesting observations about the costs incurred in the assessment process (and…
This is a case where lessons can be learnt by both claimants and defendants. The claimant served at the wrong address, however the defendant did not respond promptly or timeously. KEY PRACTICE POINT There are lessons here for both parties….
We looked earlier this month at a case where the judge preferred the evidence of an expert who had “real world” experience of the matters in issue. There are similar themes in the judgment here. (We have looked at the…
For the past week we have looked at cases where judges have been critical of the failure to comply with the provisions of PD57AC. These issues are being addressed in the webinar tomorrow. In addition to looking at the guidance…
This case considers the costs liability of a person appointed under CPR 19.12 to represent a deceased person. The court made it clear that such an appointment is not directly analogous to that of an administrator or executor. Different costs…
The Solicitors Regulation Authority have sent out a short Note on selecting professional help to assess legal costs. It is worth reading. Indeed it may be regarded as essential reading. “Using an unregulated costs adviser can expose you and your…
PD57AC is very prescriptive in the guidance it gives in relation to the way in which documents are referred to in witness statements. This is another example of a rule that is often breached, with statements often referring to, and…
This judgment provides a short reminder that if a party wants to seek permission to appeal from the court that made the decision then that application must be made at the hearing being appealed itself, or any adjournment of that…
Here we have a reminder that failure to comply with rules and orders have consequences. In this case the consequences were that the Part 20 claimants’ action for damages was struck out. There had been a series of failures…
We have had a flurry of cases recently about the consequences of failing to pay the correct fee when issuing proceedings. Here we have a case where the court considers the implications of a failure to pay the correct fee…
Is service on a P.O. Box address good service? That was the issue being considered in this appeal. However the claimant was in for a bit of a shock. Enquiries by the judge revealed that the claim form had never…
The Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Attersley v UK Insurance Ltd [2026] EWCA Civ 217 has sharpened the costs risks faced by claimants who accept a Part 36 offer outside the relevant period. While a claimant who accepts late…
There has a been a regular flow of cases where the courts have commented that PD57AC has not been complied with, it is “more honoured in the breach than the observance”, was noted in one judgment. Given that these are…
This decision is important for two reasons. Firstly it upholds the original judgment that the interim bills in this case were statute bills and that there were no special circumstances to allow assessment out of time. Secondly it highlights the…
We usually review the opening lines of judgments at the end of the year. However I thought this would be a good way to start the week, ranging as it does from ancient Greece to Rome and then to important…
Here we are looking at a basic requirement that is often overlooked. When a party is applying for permission to rely on expert evidence there is a mandatory obligation to provide the court with an estimate of costs. THE…
It is useful to remember why the strictures in PSD57AC were introduced. It followed the report of the Witness Evidence Working Group which was produced at the end of 2019. That report highlighted some major issues in relation to the…
No sooner was the (metaphorical) ink dry on the previous post about loss of earnings when I received a useful case from David Platt KC. It is a judgment that contains much of interest to litigators (that we will return…
It is surprising how many allegations of negligence are made against lawyers because of a failure to consider and obtain damages for loss of earnings. In addition there are a growing number of cases where claimants have come to grief…
There are some interesting, and important, observations in this judgment about the use (or misuse) of applications to commit in civil proceedings. The judge felt that this case was part of a larger trend to “weaponise” contempt proceedings as part…
There is no shortage of posts about solicitor-client costs on this site (see the links section below). The Civil Justice Council have issued a Consultation Paper on reform of Part III of the Solicitors Act. “Whilst it might be expected…
THROWBACK FRIDAY: SCHEDULES AND COUNTER-SCHEDULES ARE NOT A “NUMBER CRUNCHING EXERCISE” (APRIL 2018)
If there is a judgment that still resonates in practical terms today it is the one we are considering here. It asks the answer how should schedules be drafted? It then gives the answers. This was in a case where…
Here we have a case where both parties failed to comply with a direction to file witness statements by a certain date. The court granted relief from sanctions, and it is easy to see why. However it is case that…
There are many who have doubts, often profound doubts, about the utility of class actions where each of the recipients will recover minute sums. Those doubters will have their views compounded by the judgment in this case. The likely damages…
Over the next week there will be a short series dealing with errors and omissions relating to witness statements and PD57AC. What is surprising is how much material there is. These rules are five years old this month, yet we…
Regular readers of this site will not need reminding of the strictness of the rules relating to service of the claim form. Here we have another example. The claimant failed to serve the sealed claim form within the period allowed…
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