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 May 2026…
We have looked many times at decisions as to which particular city is most appropriate for a case to be heard. Someone recently brought my attention to the judgment of District Judge Kent set out below. This is a judgment…
The Court of Appeal considered an unusual aspect of costs budgeting. Does a statutory requirement that the courts take into account the financial position of the parties when considering costs have any impact on the budgeting process? If it does…
This is an unusual case in which the claimant successfully set aside an agreed settlement. It argued that there had been fraudulent misrepresentation. Even more unusually it obtained an order for repayment and recission on a summary judgment application. “In…
Virtually all litigators advise on settlement most of the time. Yesterday we looked at a case where a client, dissatisfied with the terms of a settlement, brought proceedings against their former solicitors. That action was spectacularly unsuccessful. However the fact…
Most disputed claims eventually settle. Some clients may be dissatisfied with the terms of settlement. Here we look at a case where the claimants allege that their former solicitors had been negligent in settling two sets of proceedings. The case…
Here we are using a recent judgment to look at some basic points about a solicitor’s application to come off the court record. There are nine basic points here. There is also a reminder that the fact that a solicitor…
Here the Court considered the question of whether it was appropriate to defer the date on which interest on costs became payable. The paying parties argued that the receiving party’s failure to set out the claim for the costs with…
Here was have a complex case where the claimant made a complex Part 36 offer. The judge had to consider whether the claimant had considered it was effective. If it was effective was it “unjust for the normal consequences to…
We have here another case where the use of AI by an expert has led to the judge having major doubts about the overall validity of that expert’s report. There is a “sliding scale” as to what is acceptable and…
This post comes within the “Service Points” series because the defendant here made an application to set aside the claim form and its service coupled with seeking a declaration that the court had no jurisdiction to try the claim. It…
Here we have a consideration of whether an appellant should be allowed to adduce expert evidence for the first time at the appeal stage. This appeal was subject to specific rules and should not be taken as an indication that…
Here we go back a few years to look at a post written in the run up to Halloween. There was a series of “horror” stories relating to the law. This one was about interventions from the bench, provided by…
In this case the judge was critical of the defendant’s phrasing of a witness statement. A party to judicial review proceedings owes a duty of candour to the court. A statement by a council employee that “no substantive response” had…
We have monitored cases relating to fundamental dishonesty for many years. It is as important to note cases where this is not found as those where it is established. We have an example here. “… when it comes to whether…
We have seen a large number of cases where a party, or a proposed party, writes directly to the court to seek an order in their favour. Here we have a case where this course of action was adopted. The…
The problem with large scale litigation is that when problems occur there tend to lead to large scale difficulties. We have an example here. Some 5,000 claimants missed a key deadline. As a result they are now outside the terms…
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This blog, inevitably, tends to cover cases where things have gone wrong (for someone). The primary aim is to stop the same thing happening to you. This webinar aims to encapsulate the lessons from procedural problems and issues in 2026. …
The question “Will and Insurer Pay for this?” is a crucial one for most personal injury litigants in particular. In this case the Court of Appeal upheld a decision that an insurer was not liable to pay an injured claimant…
This is a case that shows the importance of putting your best case forward at the first opportunity. Litigants can never assume they will obtain a second chance. The judge held that a second (similar) application made to prevent a…
This is not the first time we have looked at a claimant that has difficulty in pleading a “counterfactual”. That is what they would have done and what would have happened if the defendant had not (allegedly) breached the duties…
There are relatively few cases where the courts have considered the use of intermediaries in civil cases. Here we have a detailed consideration of whether a defendant required an intermediary. The judge did not accept that an intermediary was…
The previous post looked at the latest case in relation to breaches of an embargo on a draft judgment. The judge observed that the solicitor had given good advice and stated “I do not know what the answer to that…
There are numerous cases on breach of a draft judgment embargo on this blog. In this case the solicitor had given clear advice about the embargo but the client, inadvertently, breached it. The case highlights the need for litigants (on…
Much of the discussion relating to a court drawing adverse inferences relates to a failure to call relevant witnesses. Here, the judge applied them to the absence of a physical object and the test evidence it could have provided. “……
Once again we are looking at a case where a claimant fails to effect service properly. The claimant failed for two reasons. Firstly the defendant was not “present” in the jurisdiction when the claim form was served. Secondly it appeared…
The post this morning on witness summaries provides an opportunity to revisit the rules about witness summaries. It is notable that many of the cases relating to this topic also deal with applications for relief from sanctions when the summaries…
Here we have what are almost “classical” issues about the role of experts (in the sense we have seen this many times before). Both parties in this litigation called experts. The judge found one expert not to be fully independent …
Cases on witness summaries are fairly rare. Here we have issues relating to witness summaries considered in the context of a high profile witness. The judgment explains when a witness summary can be used. More specifically whether a party can…
It was probably inevitable that there would be difficulties in the construction of fixed costs and the interplay with Part 36. We have such a case here. The Court had to consider the implications of the precise wording of fixed…
It is rare for the Court of Appeal to get involved in the minutiae of costs. We have an example here and the Court is, to say the least, forthright in its views. Leading Counsel’s brief fee of £2 million…
There are very particular issues relating to service of committal proceedings. Normally an application has to be served personally. Sometimes, however, this is not easy. In this case the judge retrospectively authorised service of a committal application by an alternative…
This is an unusual case. The appellant here had been made bankrupt, ostensibly on her own petition. She knew nothing about it. Despite this the court would not annul the bankruptcy until provision was made for payment of the Trustee’s…
The “Proving Things” series has recently passed number 300. A large number of the posts in that series are about a failure to prove things. We have here a claim brought by a firm of solicitors where the judge observed…
The post earlier today about the difficulties in enforcing a judgment in a clinical negligence case against an individual doctor highlights the problems that arise if a defendant is not insured. The issue of when an insurer is liable to…
There is one brief observation in this judgment which is of some importance in relation to the way that litigators communicate with the court. Attempting to manage a case by correspondence is usually not satisfactory. “Court systems are not well…
It is rare for a clinical negligence claimant to be involved in issues relating to the enforcement of judgments. We have an example here. Ironically enough it is also an example of inadequate medical evidence being presented in an an…
It is always interesting to see the sequel of cases we have looked at earlier. We have an example here. We looked at this case in the context of a finding of fundamental d dishonesty. Different issues arise in relation…
A party instructing an expert without obtaining permission from the court in advance runs a risk. Considerable expenditure can be incurred and yet the court may refuse permission. However, on occasions, it is necessary to actually have the report to…
Much of litigation is taken up with the contents of witness statements and their veracity, or otherwise. However there is an important element in relation to missing evidence and “missing” witnesses. What inferences should the court draw if a…
Does the fact that a specific sum is claimed in the Particulars entitle a claimant to enter default judgment in that sum? Sometimes the answer to that question is no. That was the issue being considered in in this case. …
Here we look at a case where an expert essentially changed their mind after a joint report. Although the expert stated that he had not “rowed back” the judge was clear that there had been a change of view and…
We have looked many times at issues relating to non or mis-service of the claim form. Here we have a case where a solicitor’s evidence as to service was disbelieved by a Circuit Judge. The case shows many familiar mistakes…
This is a judgment about s.32 of the Limitation Act. In particular about the date of knowledge. The claimants were not successful. The judge held that they had the relevant knowledge more than six years prior to issue. It was…
It is not unknown for a client to wish to change solicitors part way through a case. Where the matter is being conducted on a conditional fee agreement this can lead to complex problems. We see this here. The key…
When this series started in March 2025 I suspected that there would be enough material for a few posts. There have now been 100. The cases have involved claims and defences, replies and counterclaims, personal injury, commercial disputes, professional negligence…
For post one hundred in this series it is perhaps fitting that we look at a Privy Council decision that shows, in categorical and clear terms, that a failure to plead essential points cannot be dismissed as a technicality. Here…
Here we have a case where the Court of Appeal upheld a decision to award pre-judgment interest on costs. Interest can be awarded even though the action is being conducted on a Conditional Fee Agreement. This is an important point…
This is a case about a late application for third party disclosure. The order was granted despite the trial date being imminent. The respondents complained of “opportunism” the judge observed that this may well be described as “creative lawyering”. “…litigation…
We are looking at the wisdom in making an early and realistic Part 36 offer on costs. “This appeal emphasises the need for paying parties who wish to protect themselves against the costs consequences of CPR 47.19 to make realistic…
This judgment given today highlights some dangers in sending “without prejudice” bills of costs at an early stage. The paying party can (understandably) be suspicious when a later bill comes at a lower figure. The reasons for this need not…
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