COST BITES 253: COURT OF APPEAL ALLOW APPEAL IN HOLCROFT -V- THORNEYCROFT SOLICITORS – BY CONSENT: AN “AGREEMENT” AS TO THE DEDUCTION OF COSTS DOES NOT PREVENT A SOLICITORS ACT ASSESSMENT
The case of Holcroft -v- Thorneycroft has been discussed on this site in the past. The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal, by consent, setting aside the original orders and directing that the defendants pay the costs of the …
SHOULD THE DEFENDANT PAY COSTS IMMEDIATELY AFTER A SPLIT TRIAL? THE “MEAN FIDDLER” CONSIDERED IN DETAIL
For the second time within a few weeks we are looking at a case where the judge had to consider whether to make a costs order following a claimant being successful after a split trial. Here the judge took a…
A QUICK POINT ABOUT AMENDING PLEADINGS: MAKE A FORMAL APPLICATION TO AMEND AND HAVE THE PROPOSED AMENDED PLEADINGS TO HAND: THE COURT OF APPEAL DECISION CONSIDERED
The post earlier today on the striking out of pleadings contained observations about the need for a party, seeking relief from sanctions on the grounds that it should be able to amend its pleadings, having those amended pleadings to hand…
BANKRUPTCY PETITION DISMISSED: THE PRECISE SUMS DUE (IF ANY) COULD, AND SHOULD, BE DETERMINED IN THE COUNTY COURT
One way to enforce a debt higher than £5,000 is to issue a bankruptcy petition. However problems for the would be petitioner can occur if the debt is disputed. We see such a case here. The judge held that there…
SOME IMPORTANT ISSUES IN RELATION TO THE FIXED COSTS REGIME: WHAT IS THE APPROPRIATE ORDER WHEN THERE ARE TWO DEFENDANTS? WHAT STAGE HAD THE CASE REACHED WHEN THE ACTION WAS STRUCK OUT? WHAT IS THE APPROPRIATE SUM TO BE PAID TO LITIGANTS IN PERSON?
Here we are dealing with a case that bristles with issues in relation to the fixed costs regime. We have already looked at the same case in relation to the striking out of numerous actions because of defective Particulars of…
THE CURRENT IMPORTANCE OF PLEADINGS 22: WHOLE BATCHES OF CASES STRUCK OUT BECAUSE THE PARTICULARS WERE DEFICIENT: RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS REFUSED
Here we are looking at a case where numerous actions brought by the claimant were struck out because the Particulars of Claim were wholly deficient. They remained wholly deficient even after the court had made a peremptory order compelling the…
CHILDREN AND FATAL ACCIDENT LITIGATION 2025: WEBINAR 8th JULY 2025
There are particulars challenges and difficulties facing a practitioner in cases where children are the only or primary dependants in a fatal claim. This webinar addressed the key issues, in relation to the law, practice and procedure and helping with…
PART 36, REFUSAL TO MEDIATE AND SHOULD A PARTY BE SUBJECT TO THE PART 36 PENALTIES WHEN AN OFFER WAS MADE TO THREE DEFENDANTS?
What should the court do in a case where a Part 36 offer is made in relation to a number of defendants but the claimant only succeeds against one of them? Can a failure to accept an offer of mediation…
CLAIMANT GRANTED RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS (ON APPEAL) FOLLOWING LATE SERVICE OF A COSTS BUDGET (TWO YEARS AND FIVE MONTHS LATE…): BUT AT A COST…
Cases relating to late service of the costs budget are still filtering through. Rarely, however, does the failure extend over 2 years and 4 months as it does here. Despite the delay the claimant’s successfully appealed against the initial refusal…
COST BITES 252: WHEN CAN A SOLICITOR PROPERLY TERMINATE A RETAINER? WAS THE CLIENT “THROWN TO THE LIONS”?
Here we are looking at a very small part of a judgment in relation to costs on a solicitor/own client assessment. On of the arguments put forward by the (former) client was that the retainer was wrongfully terminated shortly before…
WHEN CAN A JUDGE HEAR AN ISSUE THAT IS NOT “LISTED”? THE ISSUES CONSIDERED IN THE HIGH COURT
If an action is listed for hearing on a specific issue when can the judge hear, and make an order in relation to a different issue? This is an issue considered in the case we are looking at here. The…
AVOIDING PROBLEMS IN CIVIL LITIGATION 1: HOW DOES ANYBODY MISS A LIMITATION PERIOD?
This is the first in the promised series about avoiding problems in civil litigation. The most obvious place to start is with limitation issues. These sometimes prove particularly problematic for personal injury and clinical negligence lawyers. However there is no…
COST BITES 251: POINTS OF DISPUTE MUST BE PROPERLY PARTICULARISED OR THEY WILL BE STRUCK OUT: HIGH COURT DECISION TODAY CONSIDERED
There have been a number of cases now where the courts have considered the obligations on a party filing Points of Dispute to a bill of costs. In particular the need to be particular. Those obligations are considered in detail…
EXPERT WITNESSES – VITAL PARTICIPANTS IN CIVIL JUSTICE: “SHOW YOUR WORKINGS” – SPEECH BY LORD JUSTICE BIRSS THAT I AM ENCOURAGING YOU TO READ
I am here encouraging lawyers and experts to read the speech of Lord Justice Birss’ speech to the Expert Witness Institute. It was the keynote speech to the Expert Witness Institute’s Annual Conference. I have extracted highlights. (The science teacher’s…
WHEN HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF AS TRAGEDY & FARCE: GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS, MAKING WITNESS STATEMENTS AND THE SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND BELIEF
The post earlier today on the need for MI5 operatives to give the source of their information and belief has a ring of “intrigue” about it. James Bond, we now know, cannot simply declaim something to be true. However, as…
SPIES, LIES, INTRIGUE – AND A BASIC FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE RULES RELATING TO WITNESS STATEMENTS: GIVING THE SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND BELIEF (WE’VE COVERED THIS MANY TIMES BEFORE…)
Here we have a case about MI5, spies and lies. However this is a site about civil procedure and evidence so we are largely bypassing the intrigue and lies (but not the potential of a finding of contempt of court) …
MEMBER NEWS: THE SEARCH FACILITY ON THIS SITE AND FINDING RELATED MATERIAL
It is now three weeks and a day since this site took up the membership subscription model. It has been an interesting time. Not least it has enabled me to fully appreciate the full range of the site’s readership ,…
SOME MORE POINTS ABOUT A NOTICE OF DISCONTINUANCE: “CLOUD CUCKOO LAND”, “A TRAP FOR THE UNWARY” AND SOME ISSUES YET TO BE DETERMINED
We are looking again at the implications of serving a notice of discontinuance. The judgment here leaves open the question of whether a claimant who has served a notice of discontinuance in circumstances that are to their detriment can, in…
CLAIMANT COMES TO GRIEF BECAUSE OF A WHOLLY SELF-IMPOSED PROBLEM: SUBSTITUTING A DEFENDANT WHEN THE ACTION HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED – LEADS TO MAJOR PROBLEMS
There have been some interesting cases on this site recently relating to the substitution of parties. However none of them are as peculiar as the case we are looking at here – where the claimant’s problems were primarily self-inflicted. The…
WITNESS STATEMENTS DRAFTED WITH CARELESSNESS AND WITHOUT APPRECIATION OF THEIR SIGNIFICANCE: “A FAILURE TO UNDERSTAND THE PURPOSE AND STATUS OF WRITTEN EVIDENCE”
The preparation of witness statements is an essential part of the stock in trade for most litigators. It is surprising how often statements are ill prepared, they are a regular feature of this site. We see examples here when the…
COST BITES 250: SHOULD THE CLAIMANT’S SOLICITOR BE ENTITLED TO RECOVER A FULL SUCCESS FEE AND THE ATE PREMIUM? A DECISION MADE ON APPEAL
We are looking at a decision made on appeal in relation to the very common issue of the percentage of a success fee and the taking out, and subsequent deduction from damages, of an After the Event Insurance policy. The…
WHEN A PARTY MAKES A SECOND APPLICATION TO RELY ON EXPERT WITNESS HOW SHOULD THE COURT RESPOND? THE SAGA CONTINUED
We are looking at this case for the third time. There were issues in relation to witness evidence and expert evidence. The problems continued after trial when the judge realised that neither party had addressed her on a mandatory requirement…
HOW IS A VERY, VERY LATE APPLICATION TO RELY ON EXPERT EVIDENCE GOING TO FARE? THE CONSEQUENCES FOR THE DEFENDANT AREN’T GOOD…
We are considering here a very, very, late application by a defendant to call expert evidence. Unsurprisingly the application did not find favour with the court. The judge then went on to consider the consequences given that the claimant had…
STATEMENTS OF CASE, DRAFTING DANGERS AND PITFALLS IN 2025: WEBINAR 4th JULY 2025
The “Current Importance of Pleadings” series has developed far quicker than I had anticipated. There have been manifold cases where problems have occurred because of issues to do with statements of case. This webinar takes a close look at the…
WITNESS STATEMENTS ANOTHER FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH PD57AC: A “WAIT AND SEE” STRATEGY MAY BE DANGEROUS: NON-COMPLIANCE GREATLY REDUCES THE WEIGHT OF THE STATEMENTS
Earlier we looked at a case where a party was not allowed to recover the costs of obtaining non-compliant witness statements. Here we are looking at a case where both sides did not comply with PD57AC. The claimant, aware of…
YOU ARE NOT GOING TO GET PAID FOR RECTIFYING YOUR OWN DEFECTIVE WITNESS STATEMENTS: WHY NON-COMPLIANCE WITH PD57AC CAN BE EXPENSIVE
Here we have a case where a claimant was seeking to recover the costs of preparing defective witness statements. The court had ordered that compliant witness statements be filed. Should the claimant be entitled to recover the costs of preparing…
COST BITES 249 : SHOULD A COSTS ORDER BE STAYED? SHOULD THE DEFENDANT BE ORDERED TO PAY COSTS? LOOKING AT A SUMMARY ASSESSMENT IN ACTION: ARE THE COSTS DISPROPORTIONAL
Continuing with the aim of looking at what is going on “on the ground” in relation we look at a short but interesting judgment that encompasses many aspects of costs. Should the court order a stay pending a possible appeal?…
PROFESSIONAL NEGLIGENCE NEWS 2: HOW TO CALCULATE LOSSES TO A SOLICITOR WHEN OTHERS HAVE DONE THE WORK BADLY
Here we look at the assessment of damages in a professional negligence/breach of contract case. The facts are unusual in that damages were assessed in a case where a solicitor had counterclaimed for losses due to inadequate work done by…
SECOND (AND THIRD) APPLICATIONS FOR RELIEF THAT ARE, ESSENTIALLY, FOR THE SAME THING NOT ALLOWED TO PROCEED: THE APPLICATIONS WERE ABUSIVE
Here we are looking at a case where defendants, debarred from defending an action, made consecutive (and ultimately fruitless) applications to vary the orders that caused them to be debarred and several applications for relief from sanction. The court was…
THE CURRENT IMPORTANCE OF PLEADINGS 21: SHOULD A PARTY BE GIVEN PERMISION TO AMEND AT A LATE STAGE? THE ISSUES CONSIDERED AND APPLIED
There are so many judgments concerning late applications to amend pleadings that, often, I decide not to write about them. There are applications to amend that are late, very late, very, very late or “door of the court” late. The…
IF YOU ARE GOING TO CRITICISE AN EXPERT THIS MUCH YOU SHOULD HAVE RAISED IT AT THE CASE MANAGEMENT HEARING: HIGH COURT REJECTS EACH PARTY’S ATTACKS ON OPPONENT’S EXPERTS
We have seen plenty of cases where the courts have not been slow in their criticism of expert witnesses. Here we have a different situation where the judge was critical of the attacks, by each party, on the credibility of…
WHEN SHOULD THE COURT GRANT A PARTY AN OPEN-ENDED STAY TO AWAIT EXTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS? THE ISSUE AND LEGAL PRINCIPLES CONSIDERED
When should the court grant a party a stay because that party asserts there may be external developments which are relevant to the issues the court has to consider? That was a question considered in this case. There is a…
FURTHER UPDATES TO HMCTS GUIDANCE ON USING THE DAMAGES CLAIM PORTAL: RAISING QUERIES WITHIN SYSTEM; INFORMING THE PORTAL OF SETTLEMENT AND PARTIAL DISCONTINUANCE (NOT EXCITING, BUT IMPORTANT…)
A few days (sometimes even a day) can be a long time in civil procedure. I wrote about the updated Guidance to the Damages Claim Portal at the end of last week. Today I am writing to tell you it…
PROFESSIONAL NEGLIGENCE NEWS (1): I’VE SUED THE WRONG DEFENDANT: CAN THE COURT DO ANYTHING TO HELP? FIRST OF (WHAT MAY WELL BE) A LONG RUNNING SERIES
There is much to be said for starting a new (and what may well be a long running) series looking at professional negligence cases, in particular the procedural and practical issues that arise. Firstly, if (as here) it is a…
THE KEY CASES IN FATAL ACCIDENT DAMAGES 2025: WEBINAR 3rd JULY 2025
In a recent case the court observed the importance of working from the established cases when considering how fatal accident damages should be assesessed. When allowing an appeal from an “unconventional” means of assessment by the trial judge it was…
COST BITES 248: SEEING A SUMMARY ASSESSMENT IN ACTION: WHY ARE THERE TWO STATEMENTS OF COSTS? AND WHY DO THEY VARY SO MUCH?
Somewhat counterintuitively the move to a membership subscription model has led to new, and a wider range, of readers to this site. It is for their benefit I repeat a point made recently that the purpose of this series is…
HOW SHOULD THE COURT EXERCISE ITS DISCRETION TO CASE MANAGE ACTIONS ONCE PART 8 PROCEEDINGS ARE ISSUED UNDER THE PAP? COURT OF APPEAL GIVES CLEAR GUIDANCE
Having determined that the court does have jurisdiction to case manage actions issued under Part 8 the Court of Appeal went on to make some trenchant observations in relation to avoiding the possibility of delay. (Applications to extend a stay…
PROVING THINGS 267: COURT OF APPEAL OVERTURNS FINDING THAT COUNCIL HAD ESTABLISHED ITS STATUTORY DEFENCE: SOME VERY IMPORTANT POINTS HERE ABOUT THE USE OF STATEMENTS PUT TO WITNESSES AND JUDICIAL FACT FINDING
Here we are looking at an important decision of the Court of Appeal. On the face of it it is about a defendant’s failure to prove a statutory defence. However, perhaps more significantly, it is about evidence, the impact of…
CLINICAL NEGLIGENCE CORNER 1: ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES FOR PAIN AND SUFFERING IN A CLINICAL NEGLIGENCE CASE: IT HELPS IF THE PSLA IS IN THE SCHEDULE
It is relatively rare for litigators to get a detailed insight into the court’s approach to an award for pain and suffering. We see any example here. Of course every case is fact specific, but practitioners have to be aware…
COST BITES 247: SHOULD A SOLICITOR RESPOND TO PART 18 QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PAYMENT OF COMMISSION? THE HIGH COURT CONSIDERS THE POINT TODAY
Here we are looking at another round in the solicitor-own client assessment war of attrition. The question was whether a solicitor, in a solicitor and own client assessment, should reply to Part 18 requests for further information about premiums paid…
COST BITES 246: THE RECOVERABILITY OF PROBATE COSTS IN FATAL CLAIMS: HOW DOES A PARTY PROVE THEIR CASE?
The issue of whether the costs of obtaining probate are recoverable as costs in fatal accident, or Law Reform Act, claims is one that regularly arises. The principles involved are clear. Here we have the Senior Costs Judge considering the…
THE STATUS OF PRACTICE DIRECTIONS CONSIDERED : “I AM UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE NOTION THAT A PRACTICE DIRECTION CAN HAVE THE EFFECT OF OVERTAKING THE DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT…”
The precise legal status of Practice Directions is interesting. Here we have a case where a judge considered their status and came to a firm view that a statement made in the PD should not be followed as it was…
UPDATE TO HCMTS GUIDANCE ON USING THE DAMAGES CLAIM PORTAL
HMCTS has, this month, issued an updated version of the Guidance to using MyHMCTS. THE GUIDANCE The updated guidance is available here. Damages Claims Portal Issue to Respond Guidance June 2025 V1.6 THE OVERVIEW “Overview The Damages Claims Portal…
CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE CONSIDERED: CASES IN THE COURTS IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS: WEBINAR 1ST JULY 2025
It is commonplace for defendants to make allegations of contributory negligence against an injured claimant. Litigators working in this field need to know the basic law and principles relating to contributory negligence and also how these are being applied in…
A COUNTERCLAIM WAS CORRECTLY STRUCK OUT AFTER A CLAIM WAS STRUCK OUT FOR DELAY: “APPROBATING”, “REPROBATING” AND “TECHNICAL WAREHOUSING” CONSIDERED
Here we have a case where the defendant unsuccessfully appealed against the striking out of its counterclaim. The claimants had consented to the claim being struck out, on the defendant’s application, due to undue delay in the action. The defendant…
BANK’S CLAIM AGAINST SOLICITORS FOR “CAUSING LOSS BY UNLAWFUL MEANS” IS NOT STRUCK OUT, NOR ARE THE SOLICITORS GRANTED SUMMARY JUDGMENT: A LOT TO THINK ABOUT HERE
We are looking at a judgment from today where a bank has brought a claim against a firm of solicitors arguing that they have caused the bank loss because of the number and nature of complaints made by the solicitors’…
IS THIS APPEAL “ACADEMIC” AND SHOULD IT BE ALLOWED TO PROCEED? COURT OF APPEAL DONS ITS THINKING CAP…
We are looking at this Court of Appeal decision for the second time. Here we look at the Court’s consideration of an argument that an appeal should not proceed because the arguments were “academic”. There are important points considered here…
URGENT MESSAGE FROM H M COURTS AND TRIBUNAL SERVICE THIS MORNING: HMCTS PLATFORM IS STOPPING USERS FROM UPLOADING DOCUMENTS: WHAT TO DO IF UPLOADING IS URGENT
For those who have missed the email from HMCTS it is important to note that the HMCTS platform is not working at the moment. The email from HMCTS below makes practical suggestions as to what should be done if uploading…
DOES THE COURT HAVE POWER TO CASE MANAGE A CASE SUBJECT THE THE LOW VALUE PRE-ACTION PROTOCOL? THE ISSUE CONSIDERED BY THE COURT OF APPEAL
The Court of Appeal considered, on the face of it, a very simple question in this case as to the courts powers proceedings issued under Part 8 in a claim within the Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value RTA Claims. For…
THE CURRENT IMPORTANCE OF PLEADINGS 21: WHO PAID THE COSTS OF A PLEADINGS ISSUE AND HOW MUCH DID THEY PAY? SOME QUESTIONS WE NOW KNOW THE ANSWER TO
The reaction of many professional litigators to reading many of the cases on this site is (if truth be told) “who paid the costs” and “how much did all that cost? For that reason it is always of interest to…
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