FIXED COSTS, CASES OVER £25,000, EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES AND THE BASKET OF CASES
In Ferri v Gill [2019] EWHC 952 (QB)Mr Justice Stewart considered the relevant criteria to be applied when a claimant argued that fixed costs should not be applied to a case that had started in the portal but was settled…
FIXED COSTS WHEN A PERSONAL INJURY ACTION SETTLES FOR MORE THAN £25,000: “NEW RULES” TO BE APPLIED AND FIXED COSTS APPLY
I am grateful to Matthew Hoe from Taylor Rose TTKW for sending me a copy of the judgment of HHJ Sephton QC in Lovatt -v- Lew Diecastings Ltd (County Court in Manchester, 4th December 2018). Lovatt v LEW Diecastings Ltd…
BARRISTERS’ FEES ARE “PROPERTY”: COURT OF APPEAL DECISION TODAY (A HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE TOO…)
In Gwinnutt v George & Anor [2019] EWCA Civ 656 the Court of Appeal held that a barrister’s fees (paid under the old pre-contractual arrangements) were, in fact, “property” (at least for the purpose of insolvency). There is also an…
AN UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT TO APPEAL JUDGE’S EXERCISE OF DISCRETION UNDER S.33 OF THE LIMITATION ACT 1980 IN FAVOUR OF THE CLAIMANT
In HMG3 Ltd & Anor v Dunn [2019] EWHC 882 (QB) Mrs Justice Yip upheld the findings of a Circuit Judge who exercised their discretion under Section 33 in favour of a claimant. THE CASE The claim is brought by…
RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS GRANTED WHERE MONEY PAID 17 HOURS LATE:”A SENSE OF PERSPECTIVE IS NECESSARY”
In Khandanpour v Chambers [2019] EWCA Civ 570 the Court of Appeal allowed an appeal in relation to a refusal to give relief from sanctions. A delay in payment of 17 hours of part of the moneys ordered by the…
AMENDMENT, FOOTBALL AND THE ALLEGEDLY NEGLIGENT SOLICITOR: SIX KEY POINTS (WITH THE LAST ONE BEING THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL)
There are many reasons litigators should read the judgment of Mrs Justice O’Farrell in Jenkins v JCP Solicitors Ltd [2019] EWHC 852 (QB). 1. It provides yet another example of a claimant suing the wrong entity The firm of solicitors…
PERSONAL INJURY SUCCESS FEES: REDUCTION TO 15% CONFIRMED BY COURT OF APPEAL: ATE INSURANCE IS RECOVERABLE AS A DISBURSEMENT
In Herbert v H H Law Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 527 the Court of Appeal upheld a decision on a solicitor and own client assessment that the additional liability in a simple personal injury case should be 15%. It allowed…
COSTS, MEDICAL AGENCIES, VAT: SOLICITORS CAN RECOVER VAT PAID TO MEDICAL AGENCIES ON ASSESSMENT
In British Airways Plc v Prosser [2019] EWCA Civ 547 the Court of Appeal considered whether it was appropriate for a claimant’s solicitor to recover the costs of VAT paid to medical agencies. THE CASE The claimant succeeded in a…
SECOND ACTION STRUCK OUT AS AN ABUSE OF PROCESS: COURT OF APPEAL DECISION
The question of whether a “second action” is an abuse of process is not one that gives an automatic, or easy, answer. The factors were considered today by the Court of Appeal in Harbour Castle Ltd v David Wilson Homes Ltd…
RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS, LATE SERVICE OF NOTICE TO APPEAL AND THE LITIGANT IN PERSON
In London Borough of Hamlets v Al Ahmed [2019] EWHC 749 (QB) Mr Justice Dove set aside an order granting an appellant an extension of time for appealing. The fact that the appellant was a litigant in person was not a…
DEPARTING FROM THE BUDGET: IMPORTANT DECISION ON APPEAL: JUDGMENT NOW AVAILABLE
Both Professor Dominic Regan and Acumension have kindly sent me copies of the decision in Barts Health NHS Trust -v-Salmon an appeal in relation to costs budgeting (HHJ Dight CBE, with Master Brown as an assessor, 17th January 2019). A copy…
DENTON CONSIDERED: EXTENSION ALLOWED WHEN NOTICE HAD GONE INTO SOLICITOR’S SPAM FOLDER
In Adetoye v The Solicitors Regulation Authority [2019] EWHC 707 (Admin) Mr Justice Mostyn allowed an appellant an extension of time when a notice of appeal was served late. The delay was because the appellant had not noticed the order appealed…
TOO MANY DOCUMENTS, TOO MANY AUTHORITIES: A REMINDER OF AN OLD FASHIONED REMEDY: BEWARE YE, BEWARE YE
When commenting on a recent case about committal in the Court of Appeal Professor Dominic Regan made the point that the first part of the hearing had been marked by judicial comments about the size of the bundles and number…
SETTING ASIDE AN ORDER WHEN THE DEFENDANT DID NOT APPEAR: THE RULES SHOULD BE FOLLOWED
There are several unusual aspects about the decision of Salix Homes v Mantato [2019] EWCA Civ 445, not least it is an appeal directly from a Deputy District Judge to the Court of Appeal. In addition to the point of law…
A SECOND ACTION TO SET ASIDE AN EARLIER JUDGMENT OBTAINED BY FRAUD: SUPREME COURT DECISION: THE “BARE KNUCKLE FIGHT” OF THE LAW
In Takhar v Gracefield Developments Ltd & Ors [2019] UKSC 13 the Supreme Court held that a claimant could bring an action to set aside an earlier judgment which, it is alleged, was obtained by fraud. The judgment deals with two…
SHOULD AN ERRANT EXPERT GO TO JAIL? COURT OF APPEAL DECISION: MAKING A FALSE STATEMENT SHOULD LEAD TO JAIL
In Liverpool Victoria Insurance Company Ltd v Zafar [2019] EWCA Civ 392 the Court of Appeal set out clear guidance for courts considering sentencing in cases relating to reckless contempt on the part of expert witnesses. A “reckless” statement made…
PERMISSION TO AMEND PLEADINGS TO PLEAD NEW CASE AFTER EXPIRY OF LIMITATION PERIOD REFUSED: COURT OF APPEAL DECISION: STICK TO THE PLEADINGS
In Samba Financial Group v Byers & Anor [2019] EWCA Civ 416 the Court of Appeal overturned an order allowing the claimant permission to amend its case. In essence the Court of Appeal decided that where a court was considering an…
BANKRUPTCY PETITION NOT SERVED PROPERLY: BANKRUPTCY NOT ANNULLED
There may well be a disturbance in the Force if there is not a service of the claim form case every few weeks. In Ardawa v Uppal & Anor [2019] EWHC 456 (Ch) Mr Justice Roth held that a judge could…
ALLEGED “MISCONDUCT” DURING ASSESSMENT PROCESS DID NOT LEAD TO COSTS BEING DISALLOWED OR REDUCED: ATE PREMIUM WAS REASONABLE
In Murray v Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust [2019] EWHC 539 (QB) Mr Justice Stewart rejected an argument that mistakes made by a claimant during the assessment of costs process should have led to costs being disallowed or reduced. The…
PROVING THINGS 144: THAT TEMPTATION TO PUT MATTERS IN THE SKELETON THAT AREN’T ESTABLISHED BY THE EVIDENCE: ALSO – THE POWER OF LISTS
We have looked before at attempts to use a skeleton argument to introduce evidence (often made in desperation to be fair). An example of this can be seen in a short passage in the judgment in Schettini v Silvestri & Ors…