COST BITES 428 : IF THERE IS NO CHARGING CLAUSE IN THE WILL CAN THE SOLICITOR GET PAID?
Here we look (not for the first time) at a case where there was no charging clause in a will and a solicitor executor charged for their services. The solicitor attempted to rely on the circumstances in which the will…
COST BITES 427: WHEN A SOLICITOR ABANDONS AN ASSESSMENT: PERSONAL LIABILITY AND INDEMNITY COSTS FOLLOW
We have looked before at these cases relating to the assessment of costs in the pelvic mesh actions. So far as the assessments were concerned nothing much has happened for several years. Here we look at the consequences of this….
COST BITES 425: THE EAT OVERTURNS AN ORDER “ASSESSING” COSTS: THE ET APPLIED THE WRONG TEST IN RELATION TO THE CLAIANT’S MEANS, AND THEN FAILED TO SHOW IT HAD ASSESSED THE COSTS SCHEDULE AT ALL..
Here we are (unusually) looking at a decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal. The case is unusual because the EAT overturned an order as to costs that had been made by the Employment Tribunal. One of the grounds may be…
COST BITES 424: A CLAIM FOR 30.5 HOURS IN ONE DAY: A SCHEDULE “SO UNRELIABLE IT CANNOT FORM THE BASIS FOR ASSESSMENT”
We have seen many issues in relation to schedules over the years. Here the judge considered a schedule that claimed for one person working more than 24 hours in a day. “Some of those hours are, on the face of…
COST BITES 423: THE JUDGE’S EYEBROWS ARE RAISED AT AN ADDITIONAL £2,500 BECAUSE THE KC HAS TO STAY FOR THE AFTERNOON…
We have looked at a lot of judgments where costs are summarily assessed. This short judgment has two points of interest: (i) the judge’s rejection of the paying party’s point about the indemnity principle; the judge’s eyebrows being raised when…
COST BITES 422: THE ORDER FOR INTERIM COSTS IN THE AMY WINEHOUSE CASE : THE JUDGE WAS UNIMPRESSED WITH CLAIMANT’S “WEAK ARGUMENTS TO BOLSTER HIS ALREADY WEAK COSTS SUBMISSIONS”
We are looking at a case where the trial judge made an order for interim payment on costs following a decision that the claimant should pay the defendants’ costs on the indemnity basis. The judge also considered an issue, raised…
COST BITES 417: THE LIABILITY FOR COSTS OF EACH CLAIMANT WHEN A MULTI-CLAIMANT ACTION WAS DISCONTINUED: BEING PART OF SUCH AN ACTION MAY NOT BE CHEAP…
There has been much publicity recently about liability for costs when “multi-claimant” actions fail, are struck out or discontinued. We have a case that considers those issues here, albeit on a relatively small scale. Each claimant was liable to pay…
COST BITES 416: SHOULD THE COURT IMPOSE A COSTS CAP WHEN THE CASE WAS BUDGETED? THIS IS RARELY GOING TO BE SUCCESSFUL…
This is an interesting judgment on whether the court should impose a costs cap in a case that was already subject to costs budgeting. The defendant had made an application to vary the budget which was pending. The judge had…
COST BITES 415: A LOOK AT SOME SUMMARY ASSESSMENTS IN AN ACTION: HOURLY RATES NOT GOING FOR A SONG
When the opportunity arises it is helpful to look at cases where costs are summarily assessed. We have three examples here. There are another two cases where the Tribunal expressed surprise at the size of the bills involved. “The first…
COST BITES 407: COURT OF APPEAL OVERTURNS DECISION STRIKING OUT POINTS OF DISPUTE BECAUSE OF NON-AINSWORTH COMPLIANCE: JUDGMENT GIVEN TODAY
In this case the Court of Appeal overturned a decision, itself made on appeal, which had struck out a crucial paragraph of Points of Dispute to a bill of costs. The crucial point here, however, is that this is not…
COST BITES 401: COURT OF APPEAL OVERTURNS TRIAL JUDGE’S DECISION ON COSTS: THE COMPLICATIONS THAT OCCUR WHEN A COURT IS ASKED TO TAKE DISHONESTY INTO ACCOUNT WHEN MAKING AN AWARD OF COSTS…
Here the Court of Appeal grappled with some interesting issues when it overturned a trial judge’s decision to make no order for costs. The Court of Appeal stated that although the judge had been critical of the conduct of the…
COST BITES 397: THE PARTIES THAT SPENT £500,000 IN A DISPUTE THAT WAS WORTH £5,000: THE JUDGE FOUND GOOD REASON TO DEPART FROM THE DEFENDANT’S COSTS BUDGET (A CASE I WOULD ENCOURAGE EVERY LITIGATOR TO READ)
Occasionally there is a case that sends out clear lessons to litigator and litigants alike. We have such a case here. I would recommend it for universal reading. The judge observed that the parties had managed to spend over half…
COST BITES 395: A RETAINER WAS NOT A CONTENTIOUS BUSINESS AGREEMENT BECAUSE THE TERMS IN RELATION TO HOURLY RATES RENDERED IT TOO UNCERTAIN (COURT OF APPEAL DECISION YESTERDAY)
This appeal has been much discussed in the specialist press. A solicitor’s client argued that the terms of a retainer rendered in a Contentious Business Agreement. This would have given her greater scope to dispute the bills. The Court of…
COST BITES 388: A COMPANY CANNOT CLAIM ITS OWN EMPLOYEE’S TIME AS LEGAL COSTS WHEN IT WAS REPRESENTED ON AN APPEAL
Here we have a reiteration of a long established principle as to costs. A company can only recover legal costs on an assessment, not the costs of being a litigant. Here the appellant sought to recover both. The Costs Judge…
COST BITES 387: THERE IS NO PRESUMPTION THAT THERE MUST BE A DETAILED ASSESSMENT WHERE A CASE LASTS MORE THAN ONE DAY: JUDGE SUMMARILY ASSESSES COSTS AFTER A THREE DAY HEARING
Here we have a case where there was an argument whether there should be a summary or detailed assessment. The judge made it clear that there is no presumption against summary assessment simply because a hearing lasted more than one…
COST BITES 385: THE COURTS SHOULD BE WARY OF DECIDING PRELIMINARY APPLICATIONS AND ISSUES ON A PROVISIONAL ASSESSMENT: THIS COULD UNDERMINE THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF THE REGIME
We are looking at an interesting decision in relation to the court being asked to determine preliminary issues in the provisional assessment process. The judge held that the courts have jurisdiction to determine preliminary applications and issues however it should…
COST BITES 383: WHO SHOULD PAY THE COSTS FOLLOWING “MIXED” SUCCESS AT A SUMMARY JUDGMENT APPLICATION? WHAT IS A FAIR AND REASONABLE AMOUNT? (SOMETHING ABOUT APPROPRIATE DELEGATION AND HOURLY RATES TOO…)
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…
COST BITES 381: DOES THE COURT HAVE POWER TO ORDER SECURITY FOR COSTS IN RELATION TO AN ASSESSMENT? SOME INTERESTING COMMENTS ABOUT THE COSTS OF ASSESSMENT ALONG THE WAY…
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…
COST BITES 380: “ALWAYS CHOOSE A COSTS LAWYER FOR EXPERT LEGAL COSTS ADVICE”: GUIDANCE FROM THE SRA
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…
COST BITES 379: HIGH COURT JUDGE UPHOLDS DECISION THAT INTERIM BILLS WERE STATUTE BILLS AND THAT THE CLAIMANT COULD NOT SEEK ASSESSMENT OUT OF TIME
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…
COST BITES 378 : REFORM OF THE SOLICITORS ACT 1974, PART III: READ THE CONSULATION PAPER: A CHANCE TO COMMENT ON THE PROVISIONS THAT ARE “A GREAT MYSTERY” TO MANY SOLICITORS (NOT MY WORDS…)
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…
DEDUCTING COSTS FROM THE CLIENT’S DAMAGES: THE LAW AND PRACTICE: WEBINAR 24th APRIL 2026
Recent cases have shown that the issues relating to to deducting costs from the client’s damages remain controversial and highly contested. This webinar examines the regulatory framework and case law governing the deduction of legal costs from a client’s damages…
PRACTICE NOTE FROM THE CHANCELLOR OF THE HIGH COURT: NEW REQUIREMENTS FOR SUMMARY ASSESSMENT FROM 14th APRIL 2026 (UPDATED)
Last month I wrote about the Practice Note in relation to Summary Assessments that take place in the Rolls Building from the 14th April 2026. That Practice Note was superseded by a further Practice Note issued yesterday. (In other words…
THERE WAS NO AGREEMENT TO EXTEND TIME FOR SERVICE AS THE DEFENDANT ASSERTED: THE SCCO REFUSES TO SET ASIDE A DEFAULT COSTS CERTIFICATE
This is an interesting judgement on two levels. Firstly the judge did not accept the defendant’s contention that there had been an agreement to extend time for service of Points of Dispute to a bill of costs. Secondly, applying the…
COST BITES 376: THE NEED TO KEEP THE CLIENT INFORMED OF COSTS BEING INCURRED: THE SOLICITOR SHOULD HAVE INFORMED THE CLIENT THAT COSTS OF US $35,343,213.96 WERE BEING INCURRED
This judgment highlights the need for a solicitor to keep the client fully informed of the costs incurred. The judge observed that the SRA Code of Conduct imposed a positive duty on a solicitor to give the client the best…
BACK TO BASICS MONDAY: TIME LIMITS FOR CHALLENGING SOLICITORS’ BILLS
There have been a large number of posts recently relating to solicitor and own costs assessments. Many of these cases have related to the issue of whether bills delivered were “statute” bills “interim statute bills” or simply interim bills. The…
COST BITES 375 : WHY THESE INTERIM BILLS WERE NOT STATUTORY BILLS: “VERY CLEAR EVIDENCE WOULD BE NEEDED TO ESTABLISH THAT AN INVOICE WHICH, ON ITS FACE, IS EXPRESSLY NOT FINAL HAS NONETHELESS BEEN AGREED TO BE FINAL”
Last month we looked at a case where a series of interim bills were found to be statutory bills. Today we look at a case where the court came to the opposite conclusion. This has important practical consequences in that…
COST BITES 374: IF THIS WAS A CBA THE UNILATERAL ABILITY TO VARY RATES WOULD HAVE LED TO IT BEING SET ASIDE ON THE GROUNDS IT WAS UNREASONABLE
We are continuing with our examination of a case we looked at yesterday. The court found that the agreement between the parties was not a Contentious Business Agreement. However the judge also stated that it it had been a CBA…
COST BITES 373: THIS ENGAGEMENT LETTER WAS NOT A CONTENTIOUS BUSINESS AGREEMENT: “CERTAINTY” IS AN ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT
In this case the court considered whether a solicitor’s letter of engagement amounted to the creation of a Contentious Business Agreement. It was held that there was too much uncertainty for this to be a CBA. The failure to set…
COST BITES 372: BILL REDUCED FROM £2.6 MILLION TO £750,000: WHY SUMMARY ASSESSMENTS CAN MATTER (A LOT…)
For many years now we have been looking in detail at summary assessments. On occasion the sums involved, and the reductions that take place, can be considerable. We have such a case here. An initial schedule of £2.6 million (excluding…
COST BITES 371: A SUMMARY ASSESSMENT IN ACTION: THE RESPONDENT’S SENSIBLE APPROACH SAVED TIME BUT INVESTIGATION WAS NEEDED
We are continuing with the practice of looking at what actually happens in summary assessments. These are rarely looked at in detail elsewhere. This case is also interesting in that, although the respondents adopted a “neutral” approach to the application…
COST BITES 370: THE OTHER PART OF THE CAR PARKING SAGA: COURT AWARDS COSTS AGAINST THE CLAIMANT IN A SMALL CLAIMS TRACK CASE
Here we return to the case considered in the previous post. The judge refused to allow the claimant’s representative a right of audience in a Small Claims Track case. This was a Small Claims Track case, however the judge then…
MAXIMISING RECOVERY IN INTER PARTIES COSTS: THE ROLE OF THE FEE EARNER: WEBINAR 9th APRIL 2026: 12.00 pm: TRYING TO MAKE SURE YOU OBTAIN MAXIMUM RECOVERY ON ASSESSMENT
This webinar examines the crucial role of the fee earner in maximising the recovery of legal costs. Many litigators have limited experience of detailed assessments and may be unaware of the challenges that can arise during the process. The session…
COST BITES 368: THERE WERE NO “SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCE” WHICH MEANT THE SOLICITOR’S BILL SHOULD BE ASSESSED OUT OF TIME: THERE IS NOTHING THAT CALLS FOR AN EXPLANATION
We are returning to the previous case to look at the second half of the Cost Judge’s decision. Having determined that the bills were statute bills the judge then considered whether there were “special circumstances” which would entitle the claimant…
COST BITES 367: THE SOLICITOR’S TERMS OF BUSINESS MEANT THAT BILLS RENDERED WERE EACH FINAL BILLS: THE TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT WERE “UNEQUIVOCALLY CLEAR”
The issue of whether “interim” bills rendered by solicitors were “statute” bills or “Chamberlain” bills is one that can have profound practical importance. If they are not statute bills then they may be open to a Solicitors Act assessment. If…
COST BITES 365: SOMETHING AKIN TO COSTS BUDGETING IN A FAMILY CASE – WHERE SIX LAWYERS WERE EMPLOYED, ONE CHARGING £1,130 AN HOUR: “THERE IS SOMETHING OF A LACK OF REALITY IN BOTH SETS OF FIGURES”
There is no real equivalent to costs budgeting in the Family Court. On the whole this is a “no costs” jurisdiction. However we have something similar here. In essence the judge held that the applicant put forward an unrealistic “budget”…
THE IMPORTANCE OF SOLICITORS’ ESTIMATES IN RELATION TO COSTS: SOME EXAMPLES WHERE PROBLEMS HAVE OCCURRED (WITH A FINAL PLUG FOR THE WEBINAR ON THE 19th MARCH)
The recent short series on this site about the Ombudsman and estimates of costs highlighted the issues that can occur when there are disputes over costs and the original figures given by the solicitor. However the Ombudsman is not the…
DECISION TODAY IN RELATION TO RECOVERABILITY AND ASSESSMENT OF FEES CHARGED BY MEDICAL REPORTING ORGANISATIONS: ANOTHER ROUND IN A VERY LONG WAR…
We are looking at another round in the ongoing “costs of medical reporting organisations” series of battles. As the judge anticipated this may well not be the last round. Here I provide a brief summary of the conclusions. A more…
COST BITES 363: A SUMMARY ASSESSMENT OF A HEAVY COMMERCIAL APPLICATION TO STRIKE OUT IN PRACTICE: £87,698 REDUCED TO £70,158.64 (BUT NOT TO £39,460): “COMPARATIVE SPEND CAN BE A CROSS-CHECK; IT IS NOT DETERMINATIVE”
We are continuing with the practice of looking at summary assessments. These receive relatively little attention, however they can play a large part in the economics of litigation. Here we see some interesting arguments in relation to hourly rates, the…
COSTS INFORMATION AND THE OMBUDSMAN 7: HEADING OFF PROBLEMS AT THE OUTSET: (WEBINAR THIS THURSDAY 19th MARCH 2026 – WITH LOTS OF CHECKLISTS)
This short series has aimed to highlight the ongoing difficulties that litigators, in particular, can have with giving compliant costs information to their clients. In looking at this topic it is clear that there are numerous cases where clients have…
COST BITES 361: THE STEPS A CLAIMANT SHOULD TAKE IF THEY WISH TO RECOVER PRE-ALLOCATION COSTS ON THE BASIS THAT THE CASE WOULD HAVE PROCEEDED IN THE FAST TRACK
I am grateful to Andrew Hogan for sending me a copy of this decision which relates to pre-allocation costs in housing cases. It deals with the question of how the court should address pre-allocation costs where a housing disrepair claim…
COST BITES 360: THE COURT DOES HAVE POWER TO ORDER SECURITY FOR COSTS IN A SOLICITORS ACT ASSESSMENT: HOWEVER IT MADE AN ORDER FOR AN INTERIM PAYMENT INSTEAD
Here we have a case that it about the complex “fall out” following funding of litigation by litigation funders. The claimant sought an assessment of costs on the basis that it may have an interest in the sums being sought….
COST BITES 359: A SOLICITOR’S FAILURE TO SIGN THE COSTS CERTIFICATE PROPERLY DID NOT RENDER THE BILL INVALID (THIS MAY EXPLAIN WHY BIRMINGHAM COUNCIL DOES NOT HAVE ANY MONEY…)
Here we have an appeal by a paying party on a highly technical point. The appeal failed. It highlights the dangers of (i) permitting a default certificate to be entered; (ii) taking technical points which (as the Court observed) led…
COST BITES 358: JUDGE DOES NOT AWARD COSTS ON AN APPLICATION FOR PERMISSION TO APPEAL BECAUSE THE RESPONDENT (INITIALLY) ASKED FOR TOO MUCH
It is not unusual for a party, on an interlocutory application, to put in a schedule of costs that covers the entire action. Sometimes this is justified, often it is not. Here we have a case where this backfired. The initial…
COST BITES 357: DISBURSEMENTS: WHAT IS A REASONABLE AND PROPORTIONAL INTERPRETER’S FEE? NOTE OF THE JUDGMENT ON APPEAL (AND THAT PERENNIAL ISSUE OF WHETHER A BREAKDOWN SHOULD BE PROVIDED…)
I am grateful to Ben Williams KC for sending me a note of the judgment yesterday which was the appeal against the decision in Santiago v Motor Insurers’ Bureau (The County Court at Central London, 22nd February 2025). The second time…
COST BITES 346: CONDUCT, “PART 36 OFFERS” AND THE STATUTORY PRESUMPTION ON A SOLICITORS ACT ASSESSMENT: THE COSTS OF “ASSESSMENT” ARE DISTINCT TO THE COSTS OF “PROCEEDINGS”
In this judgment given yesterday a Costs Judge considered the relevance of conduct in a Solicitors Act assessment. In particular whether an offer expressed as a “Part 36 offer” by the claimant client could amount to “special circumstances” to displace…
WE HAVE SEEN HOW ALLEGED FAILURES IN PROVIDING COSTS INFORMATION EXPOSES SOLICITORS’ FIRMS TO RISK : A STRATEGY TO AVOID THE SAME OUTCOMES: ADVANCE NOTICE OF WEBINAR ON THE 19th MARCH 2026
Recent Legal Ombudsman decisions show that solicitors’ firms are being ordered to repay substantial fees and pay significant compensation for failures in costs information — even where the underlying litigation has been competently conducted. This webinar uses Knight and other recent…
COST BITES 345: RECEIVING PARTY’S FAILURE TO FILE ALL RELEVANT DOCUMENTS ON A PROVISIONAL ASSESSMENT RENDERS THE ASSESSMENT A NULLITY: CLEVER AND COMPLEX ARGUMENTS DID NOT PREVAIL
What are the consequences if a party lodging the documents for a provisional assessment of costs fails to file all the relevant documents and the assessment goes ahead without the judge seeing all the points of dispute? . This is…
COST BITES 342: THE CLAIMANTS’ HYPERBOLIC APPROACH TO ASSESSMENT COST THEM DEARLY: PERSONAL LIABILITY FOR £132,400 FOLLOWING THEIR CHALLENGE OF A BILL OF £147,436.33
If a case were needed to warn about the dangers of litigation this is one of them. The claimants challenged a solicitor’s bill of £147,436.33, the bill was reduced by some £18,000 (less than the solicitor had offered to settle…
COST BITES 341: THIS ASSESSMENT SHOULD NOT LAST 50 DAYS: COURT OF APPEAL ADVOCATES “SAMPLING” APPROACH TO ASSESSMENT OF £44 MILLION BILL OF COSTS
It is rare for a court, particularly the Court of Appeal, to take one step aside from the issue being determined and make some general observations on the process of the assessment of costs. This is one of those rare…
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