COST BITES 108: SOLICITOR AND OWN CLIENT COSTS: THE NEED FOR THE LAWYER TO GIVE ACCURATE ESTIMATES OF COST AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF INACCURACY (THIS DOES NOT END WELL FOR THE SOLICITOR)
The judgment of Senior Costs Judge Gordon-Saker in Kenton v Slee Blackwell PLC [2023] EWHC 2613 (SCCO) provides an object lesson in the perils of the clear warnings and advice that clients have to be given in relation to costs….
COST BITES 103: INTERIM BILLS WERE NOT FINAL BILLS: CLIENT COULD STILL HAVE THEM ASSESSED
In Ivanishvili v Signature Litigation LLP [2023] EWHC 2189 (SCCO) Costs Judge Leonard rejected an argument that a series of bills rendered by a solicitor were “statutory” bills. This meant that all the bills could be subject to assessment. The…
COST BITES 102: NOPE, YOU’RE NOT GETTING £870 AN HOUR: CREDIT CARD RATES ARE REDUCED
In Walter Hugh Merricks CBE v Mastercard Incorporated and Others [2023] CAT 53 the Competition Appeal Tribunal held that the hourly rates charged by both sides were too high to be recovered inter partes. The Guideline rates still provide a guide…
COST BITES 101: RECOVERING THE COSTS OF ENGLISH SOLICITORS IN SCOTTISH COURTS (THIS DOESN’T END WELL – FOR SOMEONE)
It is rare for this blog to cover (or pursue) a decision from Scotland. However the judgment in RECLAIMING MOTION IN THE CAUSE OF MARGARET JANIS KIRKWOOD AGAINST THELEM ASSURANCES [2023] ScotCS CSIH_3 has major implications for English & Welsh…
COST BITES 100: A LITIGANT IN PERSON CANNOT RECOVER THE COSTS OF A NON-SOLICITOR ENTITY
In Reeves v Pickton & Ors [2023] EWHC 2198 (SCCO) Costs Judge Leonard considered whether a litigant in person, who had been assisted by a non-solicitor entity, could recover the costs of that assistance on an inter-partes assessment. After a…
COST BITES 99: A SUMMARY ASSESSMENT ON A STANDARD BASIS AFTER A SOLICITOR AND OWN CLIENT ON AN INDEMNITY BASIS: THERE IS MUCH TO LEARN HERE
The judgment of Costs Judge Leonard in Hughes Fowler Carruthers Ltd v Gubbay [2023] EWHC 2188 (SCCO) contains several matters of interest. It is a reminder of that basis of the standard assessment of costs, and how this differs to…
COST BITES 98: THE SIMILARITIES IN MEDICAL REPORTS SHOULD BE REFLECTED IN THE COSTS OF REPORTS
We are returning again to HD v Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust [2023] EWHC 2118 (SCCO) Costs Judge James considered the sums that should be allowed in relation to the claimants’ medical reports. This involved a close examination of the reports…
MAJOR PROBLEMS WHEN THE JUDGE IS “NOT IMPRESSED” BY THE SCHEDULES OF LOSS: “MUCH TIME WAS THROWN AWAY ON CALCULATIONS BASED ON THE WRONG PREMISES”
We are returning to the judgment of Costs Judge James in HD v Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust [2023] EWHC 2118 (SCCO). This is a case that anyone drafting a Schedule of Damages should read. These actions were settled well before…
COST BITES 97: CLAIMANT NOT ALLOWED 62.3 HOURS TO DRAFT THE LETTER OF CLAIM: WHAT SHOULD LETTERS OF CLAIM CONTAIN?
In HD v Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust [2023] EWHC 2118 (SCCO) Costs Judge James considered the question of how much time should have been spent drafting a letter of claim in a clinical negligence case. She disallowed the 62…
CLAIMANTS CAN RECOVER THE COSTS OF ATTENDING A PRE-INQUEST REVIEW: THE DEFENDANT’S RHETORIC WAS MISPLACED: THE CLAIMANT’S COSTS WERE NOT “EYE WATERING” AT ALL
In Briley & Ors v Leicester Partnership NHS Trust & Ors [2023] EWHC 1470 (SCCO) Costs Judge James found that the costs of attending a pre-inquest review were held to be recoverable inter partes. “I would add that whilst…
COST BITES 95: A SOLICITOR’S BILL IS “PAID” WHEN FUNDS ARE DEDUCTED FROM DAMAGES AND A COMPLIANT BILL SENT TO THE CLIENT
NB this decision was overturned by the Supreme Court. See the discussion on the Supreme Court decision here. In Menzies v Oakwood Solicitors Ltd [2023] EWCA Civ 844 the Court of Appeal held that a solicitors bill is “paid” when…
THE COSTS JUDGE OVER YOUR SHOULDER: DEDUCTING COSTS FROM THE CLIENT’S DAMAGES: WEBINAR 20th SEPTEMBER 2023
On the 20th September 2023 I am presenting a webinar looking at issues relating to the deduction of costs from the client’s damages in a personal injury claim.This webinar looks at the regulations and case law relating to the deduction…
COST BITES 94: SOLICITOR AND OWN CLIENT COSTS: COSTS BUDGETING: BUDGETING OVERSPEND: THE DUTY TO WARN: THE APPROPRIATE SUCCESS FEE
In JXC v NIS [2023] EWHC 1000 (SCCO) Costs Judge Leonard considered issues relating to the recoverability of costs from the client over and above those recovered inter-partes. This case shows the importance of informing the client about the costs…
NEW EDITION OF THE SENIOR COURT COSTS OFFICE GUIDE (2023)
The latest edition of the Senior Court Costs Office Guide is now available here. As ever the Guide contains a detailed and comprehensive guide to all the procedural (and some substantive) issues THE INTRODUCTION “The Senior Courts Costs Office (SCCO)…
COST BITES 92: THE TRANSIT OF VENUS, THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON AND THE QUESTION OF WHETHER TIME SPENT AT CASE MANAGEMENT MEETINGS IS RECOVERABLE INTER PARTES
I am grateful to Andrew Davis KC for bringing my attention to the judgment of Master McCloud in Hadley v Przybylo (Costs, Costs budgeting, Costs lawyers, personal injury, case manager, recoverability) [2023] EWHC 1392 (KB). The Master rejected the argument…
COST BITES 91: CONVERSION OF CURRENCY WHEN A RECEIVING PARTY HAS PAID ITS LAWYERS IN EUROS
We have looked before at the case helpfully sent by Nicholas Lee Paragon of Costs Solutions , in Micula and others v Romania [2023] UKSC 2018/0177 (23 May 2023). Here we look at that part of the judgment that deals…
CLAIMANTS’ APPLICATION TO VARY COSTS BUDGET DISMISSED: A SELF – IMPOSED DIFFICULTY DID NOT (ON THESE FACTS) AMOUNT TO A SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT
In Simpsons (Preston) Ltd & Anor v MS Amlin Underwriting Ltd [2023] EWHC 1370 (Comm) HHJ Pearce refused the claimants’ application to vary the costs budget in relation to disclosure. The reason the application was made because the claimants had…
COST BITES 89: A SUPREME COURT ORDER FOR COSTS CONSTRUED: COSTS WERE (ESSENTIALLY) RESTRICTED TO PAYMENT OF ONE PARTY, TWO SILKS AND ONE JUNIOR
I am grateful to Nicholas Lee Paragon of Costs Solutions for sending me details of the decision in Micula and others v Romania [2023] UKSC 2018/0177 (23 May 2023) where Costs Judge Leonard and Costs Officer Sewell considered the specific…
COST BITES 87: ISSUES RELATING TO EXCEEDING THE BUDGET LEFT TO THE COSTS JUDGE
In BES Commercial Electricity Ltd & Ors v Cheshire West And Chester Council [2022] EWHC 3333 (KB) Mr Justice Freedman declined an invitation to give any indication in relation to the defendant’s application to depart from its budget. The matter…
COSTS BITES 86: COSTS OF INSTRUCTING LEADING COUNSEL IN A £115,000 CLAIM WERE NOT RECOVERABLE: A LITIGANT CANNOT “DEPLOY UNLIMITED RESOURCES TO FIGHT CASES AND EXPECT TO RECOVER THOSE COSTS FROM THE LOSING PART”
In Coram v D R Dunthorn & Son Ltd [2023] EWHC 731 (SCCO) Deputy Costs Judge Joseph affirmed his original decision on provisional assessment that the costs of instructing leading counsel to attend a three day trial were not recoverable…
COST BITES 84: MEDICAL AGENCY MUST PROVIDE A BREAKDOWN OF ITS BILL TO SHOW WHAT THE EXPERT WAS PAID: DECISION ON APPEAL
I am grateful to my colleague Paul Hughes for providing me with a copy of the judgment of HHJ Bird in Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust -v- Hoskin, County Court at Manchester22nd May 2023, a copy is available here HoskinsAppealJudgment. …
COSTS BITES 80: WHERE THE BILL OF COSTS WAS FOR IMAGINARY WORK AND “JUST FICTION”: ASSESSMENT SHINES A CLEAR LIGHT OF DEFICIENCES IN BILLS: AT SUBSTANTIAL COST TO THE CLAIMANTS’ SOLICITOR
The judgment of Senior Costs Judge Gordon-Saker in Ikin -v- Shawbrook Bank Limited [2023] EWHC 1075 (SCCO) contains many, many lessons of importance for those drafting and those signing bills of costs. The judge found that there were manifold failures…
COST BITES 79: JUDGE AWARDS GUIDELINE RATES EVEN IN HEAVY COMMERCIAL CASE
In Manek & Ors v 360 One WAM Ltd & Ors (Re Consequentials) [2023] EWHC 985 (Comm) Simon Rainey KC (sitting as a Judge of the High Court) declined to award rates that were higher than the Guideline Rates in…
HOURLY RATES ON DETAILED ASSESSMENT ABOVE THE GUIDELINE HOURLY RATES: A STARTING POINT BUT NOT NECESSARILY THE FINISHING POINT
In Various Claimants v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2023] EWHC 827 (SCCO) Costs Judge Rowley made some observations on the use of the Guideline Hourly rates in a detailed assessment. These may well be the starting point, they do not…
HEARING AND TRIAL BUNDLES: ARE THE COSTS OF PREPARATION RECOVERABLE? WELL, YES THEY ARE (IN PART)
There was some discussion on Twitter earlier this evening as to whether the cost of preparing bundles is recoverable at all. Since we have not had a case featuring a judicial complaint about bundles for several months* and “bundle cases”…
THE COSTS JUDGE OVER YOUR SHOULDER – MAXIMISING RECOVERY ON ASSESSMENT: WEBINAR 6th APRIL 2023
I am presenting a webinar on the 6th April 2023 – The Costs Judge Over Your Shoulder 2023 – Maximising recovery. Booking details are available here. THE WEBINAR “Here the reduction was very large and the reason for the reduction was…
COST BITES 71: POINTS OF DISPUTE STRUCK OUT BECAUSE THEY WERE NON-COMPLIANT: PAYING PARTIES RAISING OBJECTIONS HAVE TO USE THEIR JUDGMENT
I am grateful to Kain Knight Costs Lawyers for drawing my attention to the judgment of HHJ Gosnell in O’Sullivan v Holmes and Hills LLP [2023] EWHC 508 (KB). The judge allowed an appeal by a solicitor in a solicitor…
COSTS BITES 58: SUMMARY ASSESSMENT OF COSTS IN A PREMIER LEAGUE CASE: COSTS SHOULD NOT TOTALLY OVERSHOOT THE POST
There is an interesting decision as to costs in the judgment of Mr Justice Miles in The Football Association Premier League Ltd v Pattie & Ors [2023] EWHC 296 (Ch) in relation to the assessment of costs when a case…
DEFENDANT’S APPLICATION FOR AN ORDER THAT CLAIMANT REDRAW BILL OF COSTS DISMISSED: EXPERIENCE OF FEE EARNERS IS A MATTER FOR THE DETAILED ASSESSMENT PROCESS
An interesting point was considered by Costs Judge Nangalingam in Brierley v Otuo & Ors [2023] EWHC 275 (SCCO). The defendant paying party argued that a bill of costs should be redrawn. One of the grounds for the application was…
WHAT IS THE BEST COSTS ADVICE YOU CAN GIVE TO A YOUNG LAWYER? THE ENTRIES
What single piece of Advice on costs would you give to a young lawyer to stand them in good stead throughout their career? This was the question asked in the contest started last month. The contest has a prize generously…
COST BITES 55: A NON-PARTY COSTS ORDER NOT MADE AGAINST CLAIMANT’S SOLICITORS IN RELATION TO COSTS OF ASSESSMENT: QOCS MAY BE A PROBLEM FOR THE DEFENDANT – BUT THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO SOLVE IT…
In PME v The Scout Association [2023] EWHC 158 (SCCO) Costs Judge Leonard rejected the defendant’s argument that a non-party costs order should be made against the claimant’s solicitors in relation to the defendant’s costs of assessment and subsequent applications…
COST BITES 52: “WE WANT IT ALL AND WE WANT IT NOW”: COURT REFUSES CLAIMANT’S APPLICATION FOR A SUMMARY ASSESSMENT OF COSTS
One of the aims of this series is to look at those issues of costs that are, on the face of it, incidental to the main issue decided by the court. However, in practical terms, the costs issue is of…
COSTS REDUCED BY 70% BECAUSE OF MISCONDUCT IN ASSESSMENT (AFTER BEING REDUCED BY 95% DURING THE ASSESSMENT): CLAIMANT’S APPLICATION FOR PERMISSION TO APPEAL REFUSED
The judgment of Mr Justice Murray in AB v Secretary of State for Justice [2023] EWHC 72 (KB) is part of an extraordinary saga in relation to a costs assessment. Costs had been reduced by 95% on assessment and reduced…
COST BITES 48: WHERE THE ONLY RELEVANCE OF THE BUDGET IS TO SET AN UPPER LIMIT ON RECOVERABLE COSTS: THE ESCALATING COSTS OF “METAPHORICAL WARFARE”
We are returning to the judgment of Costs Judge Leonard in Reed v Woodward Property Developments Ltd & Anor [2023] EWHC 36 (SCCO) to look at two other aspects of the case. The first relates to the relevance of the costs…
COST BITES 47: PROVING (OR DISPROVING) THAT THERE WAS A VALID RETAINER: APPORTIONING RECOVERABLE COSTS BETWEEN TWO DEFENDANTS
In Reed v Woodward Property Developments Ltd & Anor [2023] EWHC 36 (SCCO) Costs Judge Leonard considered a number of issues. Firstly the court’s approach when there was a dispute as to whether there was a valid retainer. Secondly questions…
COST BITES 44: THE COSTS OF ASSESSMENT: THE RELEVANCE OF CONDUCT, ARE PART 36 OFFERS SIGNIFICANT?
We are returning to the judgment of Mrs Justice Stacey in TRX v Southampton Football Club [2022] EWHC 3392 (KB). The judge made some observations in relation to the costs of the assessment process. In particular the interplay of CPR 47.20…
COST BITES 43: CLAIMANT’S COSTS INCURRED BEFORE CFA SIGNED WERE RECOVERABLE
In TRX v Southampton Football Club [2022] EWHC 3392 (KB) Mrs Justice Stacey considered a number of issues relating to costs. One of those was the question of whether pre-CFA costs were recoverable. This required a close consideration of the…
COST BITES 42: INDEMNITY COSTS, CONDUCT AND CORRECTING MISTAKES: PROVIDING SUFFICIENT MATERIAL ON ASSESSMENT IS ESSENTIAL
In Deutsche Bank AG v Sebastian Holdings Inc [2023] EWHC 9 (SCCO) Senior Costs Judge Gordon-Saker held that a claimant was only entitled to 70% of its costs of assessment. There were difficulties in the way that the claimant had…
COST BITES 41: PREJUDGMENT INTEREST ON COSTS – CONSIDERED BUT REFUSED
In Adcock & Ors v Blemain Finance Ltd [2022] EWHC 3280 (SCCO) Costs Judge Whalan considered, and rejected, the claimants’ arguments that they should have pre-judgment interest on costs. “It is clear nonetheless that the incipitur rule constitutes the…
PROVING THINGS 244 (& COST BITES 39): WHY COSTS LAWYERS HAVE TO KNOW ABOUT PROVING THINGS
We are returning to the decision on Mr Justice Cavanagh in Shepherd & Co Solicitors v Brealey [2022] EWHC 3229 (KB) to consider another aspect of the rules relating to costs. The solicitors were seeking to persuade the court to…
IF YOU DON’T SAY WHO YOU ARE THEN YOU CANNOT ARGUE POINTS AT A DETAILED ASSESSMENT OF COSTS
In Wright v Person Or Persons Unknown Responsible for the Operation and Publication of the Website bitcoin.org [2022] EWHC 2982 (SCCO) Costs Judge Rowley held that if a paying party wanted to take part in a detailed assessment of costs…
COST BITES 37: DRAFTING THE SCHEDULE FOR SUMMARY ASSESSMENT: DEFECTS, DEFAULTS AND REMEDIES
The judgment of Tribunal Judge Amanda Brown KC in Harris v Revenue and Customs (COSTS – complex track application for idemnity costs on the basis of unreasonable behaviour – application in response to strike out for failure to meet terms…
“THERE IS NO PORTAL FOR LOW VALUE PRODUCT LIABILITY CLAIMS”: FIXED COSTS DID NOT APPLY
I am grateful to Paul Balen for sending me a case report of a product liability case he was involved in. The judge found that a product liability case is not required to be lodged in the portal. This had…
COST BITES 35: SOLICITOR AND OWN CLIENT SUCCESS FEES CONSIDERED IN DETAIL: 20% REDUCED TO 15% BY COSTS JUDGE
The judgment of Costs Judge Brown in MNO v HKC & Anor [2022] EWHC 2919 (SCCO) considers the question of an appropriate success fee between solicitor and client in a personal injury case. The judge did not accept the argument…
COST (MEGA) BITES 35: THE DETAILED ASSESSMENT THAT LASTED 104 DAYS : COSTS JUDGE REFUSES TO VARY EARLIER DECISION
In Deutsche Bank AG v Sebastian Holdings Inc. & Anor [2022] EWHC 2920 (SCCO) Senior Costs Judge Gordon-Saker gave a judgment which finalised a detailed assessment that had lasted 104 days. The judge found that, prior to the assessment concluding, …
WHEN SHOULD COSTS BE SUMMARILY ASSESSED OR SUBJECT TO DETAILED ASSESSMENT? HIGH COURT CONSIDERS THE ISSUES
In Brake & Anor v Guy & Ors (Costs) [2022] EWHC 2907 (Ch) HHJ Paul Matthews (sitting as a High Court Judge) considered an argument that the costs of an application should be subject to detailed assessment rather than summarily…
DEFENDANT SOLICITOR IN COSTS ASSESSMENT NEED NOT RESPOND TO PART 18 REQUESTS ABOUT PREMIUMS: “THE GENERAL QUESTIONS POSED ARE A PARADIGM EXAMPLE OF A FISHING EXPEDITION”
I am grateful to Nick McDonell from Kain Knight for sending me a copy of the judgment of Costs Judge Rowley in Brown -v- JMW Solicitors LLP [2022] 2848 (SCCO). In that case the judge refused to make an order…
JUDGMENT ON ADMISSIONS ONLY AVAILABLE WHERE LIABILITY TO PAY DAMAGES IS ADMITTED: INTERIM COSTS ORDERS REQUIRE SCHEDULES TO BE AT COURT: LESSONS FROM THE GRENFELL LITIGATION
In Abdel-Kader & Ors v Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea & Ors [2022] EWHC 2006 (QB)Senior Master Fontaine considered the basis for applying for judgment and interim costs. The claimants had not identified the basis upon which judgment was…
COST BITES 25: DEFENDANTS’ CONDUCT LEADS TO COSTS BEING AWARD ON THE INDEMNITY BASIS
Those who write “robust” letters of response to a letter before action may benefit from reading the judgment of Mr Justice Andrew Baker in Pisante & Ors v Logothetis & Ors [2022] EWHC 2575 (Comm). The judge held that costs…
COST BITES 23: CLAIMANT FAILS IN APPLICATION FOR DELIVERY OF A SOLICITOR’S BILL OF COSTS: CHAMBERLAIN BILLS HAD BEEN SENT; A SIGNATURE ON AN EMAIL WAS SUFFICIENT; ELECTRONIC DELIVERY COMPLIED WITH THE SOLICITORS ACT
In Elias v Wallace LLP [2022] EWHC 2574 (SCCO) Senior Costs Judge Gordon-Saker dismissed the claimant’s application for a delivery of a bill of costs. He found that (i) the bills delivered were “Chamberlain” bills and had sufficient information for…
You must be logged in to post a comment.