The judgment of Mr Justice Warby in Tim Yeo MP -v- Times Newspapers Limited [2015] EWHC 209 (QB) contains some interesting observations in relation to pleading allegations of fraud. However here we look at the judge's observations in relation to costs budgeting.
THE ISSUES IN THE CASE
The action wa...
The approach to contingencies is a real problem. they caused a problem in Simpson v MGN recently aswell. Both cases show parties are afraid to leave contingent costs out for risk of losing recoverable costs if they’re not picked up at a later stage. Perhaps Warby has given some comfort in saying that the steps need to be more likely than not to be properly included in a budget. However is the 2% cap costs management cap enough if parties have to keep going back before the court to amend?
On another note, has Warby J missed the point of managing costs and just carried an assessment in advance? Other than dealing with contingencies it seems he hasn’t done much more than knock hourly rates and time down. Arguably that is a detailed assessment function