COST BITES 446 : SHOULD THE COURT HAVE MADE A NON-PARTY COSTS ORDER? SHOULD THE APPELLANT HAVE BEEN CROSS-EXAMINED AND WAS THE COURT BOUND TO ACCEPT HIS EVIDENCE?
This is a case about non-party costs orders that has some unusual elements. Firstly an argument that since the appellant was not cross-examined the court was bound to accept his assertions that he had no direct financial interest in the…
WITNESS EVIDENCE WEDNESDAY: “BACKDATING LETTERS” TO DELIBERATELY MISLEAD COULD COST YOU: £4.58 MILLION IN THIS CASE: (METADATA COMES INTO PLAY NOW)
We are looking here at a judgment about witness credibility made by an Employment Tribunal several years ago. In particular the Tribunal found that the Defendants’ witnesses had deliberately backdated letters in an attempt to mislead. The reason we are…
COST BITES 445: “AN APPALLING WASTE OF RESOURCES FOR WHICH BOTH PARTIES AND THEIR REPRESENTATIVES BEAR RESPONSIBILITY”: THE FAMILY COURT IS NOT BEST PLEASED…
Here we take a look at a judgment in a family case which contains an exhortation about running up unnecessary costs. This is normally a regime in which inter partes costs are not awarded. The conduct in this case led…
COST BITES 441: NO ORDER FOR COSTS – EVEN THOUGH THE APPLICANT WAS SUCCESSFUL: THERE ARE MANY LESSONS TO LEARN HERE…
Last week this blog had a fairly detailed review of those circumstances which often lead to no order for costs being made. We have another example here. The applicant had succeeded in the application it had made, however the judge…
COST BITES 440: WHY INDEMNITY COSTS WERE ORDERED A LOOK AT THE CLAIMANTS’ PLEADED CASE: FIRSTLY IT WAS PLEADED TOO WIDELY, SECONDLY THERE WERE THEN ATTEMPTS TO PUT THE CASE OUTSIDE THE PLEADINGS
We look again at the award of indemnity costs in the Associated Newspaper case. The reasons for this were manifold. However there were two important factors relating to the statements of case. Firstly the case was pleaded far too widely;…
COST BITES 438 : CLAIMANT’S UNTENABLE ARGUMENTS LEADS TO REDUCTION IN COSTS RECOVERED: HOURLY RATES FAR TOO HIGH, EVEN WHEN THE CLAIM WAS “ONLY” FOR £9 MILLION
This decision as to costs gives rise to two interesting issues. Firstly the claimant’s costs of an injunction application were reduced substantially because assertions were put forward on a basis that were “unsustainable” and which should never have been pursued,…
WHEN A COURT MAY MAKE NO ORDER FOR COSTS: THE FACTORS CONSIDERED: 12 KEY POINTS AND A USEFUL CHECKLIST FOR PRACTITIONERS
Some posts earlier this week concentrated on a case where the judge made no order for costs. This is an unusual outcome, but still one that has to be considered and the client warned about. Here we take a…
COST BITES 437: SHOULD THE DEFENDANT’S CONDUCT OF THE ACTION LEAD TO INDEMNITY COSTS BEING AWARDED? YES IT SHOULD…
In this case the judge decided that the defendant’s conduct of the litigation warranted an award of indemnity costs being made. There is an interesting consideration of the case law relating to when costs will be reduced because of lack…
BACK TO BASICS MONDAY: LITIGATORS HAVE TO WARN THEIR CLIENTS THAT SOMETIMES A COURT MAKES NO ORDER FOR COSTS AT ALL: THE PERILS IF YOU DON’T
This post obviously follows on from the post earlier today where the judge made no award for costs after a trial. Neither side had “won” and, in any event, the amount spent in pursuit of the claim was disproportional. This…
COST BITES 435: £4 MILLION SPENT IN COSTS AND NEITHER PARTY WILL RECOVER A PENNY FROM THE OTHER: A “PYRHHIC” VICTORY LEADS TO NO ORDER FOR COSTS…
This is case that should be considered by every litigator, and litigant. It involves legal expenditure on a major scale, with very little benefit to the parties at the end. The final result is unlikely to please either of the…
AN ORDER FOR WASTED COSTS NARROWLY AVERTED – BUT THERE WERE ISSUES ON BOTH SIDES: “NONE OF THE LEGAL PROFESSIONALS IN THIS CASE HAVE COVERED THEMSELVES WITH GLORY”
This is a case where the judge found the conduct of a firm of solicitors “utterly extraordinary”. However there were, in fact, a number of errors by both sides. This may (and probably would) have led to a wasted costs…
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….
ATTEMPTING TO RE-WRITE A DRAFT JUDGMENT: THIS HARDLY EVER (IF EVER) PERSUADES A JUDGE THAT THEY WERE WRONG
The practice of sending out draft judgments in advance is undoubtedly helpful. It does, however, lead to some procedural difficulties in itself. We have seen numerous examples of the draft embargo on a judgment being breached. It is sometimes seen…
COST BITES 421 : THE AMY WINEHOUSE CASE IS BACK IN COURT: CLAIMANT’S AGGRESSIVE CONDUCT OF A CASE WHERE HE LOST “ON EVERY MATERIAL POINT OF FACT AND LAW” LEADS TO AN ORDER FOR INDEMNITY COSTS TO PAY COSTS ON THE INDEMNITY BASIS
We are looking at another case where the claimant’s conduct of the case has led to costs being awarded on an indemnity basis. The judgment is clear that the claimant deliberately adopted an aggressive case which had no factual merit…
COST BITES 420 : INDEMNITY COSTS AWARDED: “YOU SHOULD HAVE APPLIED TO STRIKE US OUT” OR “YOU COULD HAVE MADE A LOWER OFFER” ARE NOT AN ATTRACTIVE ARGUMENTS IN THIS CONTEXT
Here we look at some interesting arguments when claimants were attempting to avoid an award of indemnity costs. The judge was not impressed by the submission that the defendant should have applied to strike the action out. He was equally…
ANOTHER BREACH OF JUDGMENT EMBARGO CASE: WHY SOLICITORS MUST BADGER THEIR CLIENTS ABOUT COMPLIANCE: “THE COURT EMBARGO IS FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT FROM JOURNALIST EMBARGO”
Here we have yet another breach of the embargo on the handing down of a court judgment. The breach appears to have occurred because of a misunderstanding as to the important distinction between a court embargo and a journalism embargo. …
COST BITES 419: HOW CLAIMING COUNSEL’S FEES ON AN N260 CAN LEAD TO REFERRAL TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT PROCEEDINGS TO BE CONSIDERED: SIGNATORY BEWARE
Cost Schedules are signed and served every day. This case shows why they must be checked carefully before signature. Here the judge found that a claim made for counsel’s fees on an N260 had been false. This was one of…
“STING OPERATIONS”, SECRET AGENTS, NAIVE SOLICITORS DISCLOSING THEIR CLIENT’S PRIVILEGED INFORMATION, STRIKING OUT AND ABUSE OF PROCESS: COURT OF APPEAL DECISION HIGHLIGHTS THE MAJOR RISKS OF “PRIVILEGE HUNTING”
Here the Court of Appeal looks at one of the most remarkable issues of “litigation conduct” that has occurred in recent years. The claimants hired a “black ops” operative to befriend and obtain privileged and confidential information from the defendants’…
WHAT SHOULD A SOLICITOR DO IF A CLIENT IS PUTTING FORWARD AN ACCOUNT THAT MAY BE UNTRUE AND THEN THERE ARE “RED FLAGS”? WHEN IS THE LINE CROSSED: THE DUTIES CONSIDERED IN DETAIL
A solicitor is, generally, not under a duty to satisfy themselves that their client is telling the truth. However what happens when there are “red flags” which indicate the client is using the solicitor’s services in furtherance of a fraud? …
MAZUR MATTERS 65 (YES THEY ARE STILL CROPPING UP…): WAS A COMPANY SUING FOR A DEBT IT HAD PURCHASED BREACHING THE LEGAL SERVICES ACT?
Here we are looking at an argument that a company, that had purchased a debt and issued proceedings, was breaching the Legal Services Act. The argument was forcibly put and, just as forcibly, rejected. The judge was clear that a…
THROWBACK FRIDAY: ANOTHER (YES ANOTHER) CASE WHERE A LITIGANT ARGUED “MY CASE WAS SO HOPELESS I SHOULDN’T HAVE TO PAY YOUR COSTS” (OCTOBER 2024)
This week we have been looking at could broadly be called “ambitious” arguments by, or on behalf of, litigants as to why they should not pay costs. There are a surprising number of such cases. Here we revisit a post…
WE HAD SUCH A HOPELESS CASE WE SHOULDN’T PAY ALL THE COSTS BECAUSE YOU SHOULD HAVE APPLIED TO STRIKE US OUT: ARGUMENTS WITH AN “AIR OF UNREALITY” ABOUT THEM
A post yesterday looked at two cases where attempts were made to attribute some blame to a litigant’s opponents for not spotting certain issues arising from that litigant’s own conduct. Here we look at a case where this type of…
CIVIL PROCEDURE, OPAQUE EVIDENCE AND “YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN”: ARGUMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN REJECTED BY THE COURTS – TWO EXAMPLES AND THE UNHAPPY CONSEQUENCES FOR THE LITIGANTS…
We are looking at an argument deployed in a case we considered earlier today. It was an argument that the defendants should have been able to “divine” from the oblique nature of the claimant’s evidence that funding was not in…
COST BITES 413: GET YOUR FUNDING IN PLACE AND TELL EVERYONE IF THE MUSIC HAS STOPPED: CAT AWARDS COSTS ON THE INDEMNITY BASIS DUE TO CONDUCT
It goes without saying that this is a decision that must be music to the defendants’ ears. Not only was the claim dismissed the claimant was ordered to pay costs on an indemnity basis for a large part of the…
COST BITES 412: SHOULD THE CLAIMANT’S FAILURE TO GIVE FULL AND FRANK DISCLOSURE ON AN APPLICATION TO SERVE OUT LEAD TO THE DEFENDANTS RECOVERING INDEMNITY COSTS: CONDUCT CONSIDERED
This judgment considers whether certain, admitted, failures by the claimant to give full and frank disclosure should lead to costs being awarded against it, even though it defeated the defendants’ application to set aside the order that was made. The…
COST BITES 411: NON-PARTY COSTS ORDER MADE AGAINST CLAIMANT’S DIRECTOR : HE WHO EXPECTS TO BENEFIT RUNS A RISK OF PAYING THE COSTS…
This case considers the issue of whether it was appropriate to make a non-party costs order. The Master reached a clear conclusion that it was. The individual in question was effectively the driving force behind the litigation in addition to…
EXPERT WATCH 56: A SECTION OF A JUDGMENT THAT SPECIFICALLY CRITICISES A MEDICAL EXPERT: “I WAS STRUCK BY THE ABSENCE OF A RIGOROUS AND CAREFUL MULTIDISCPLINARY APPROACH TO THIS ISSUES IN THIS CASE”
One of the fascinating things about procedure is how the same principles apply across a whole range of cases. This is particularly the case with issues relating to evidence, particularly expert evidence. Earlier we looked at expert evidence in relation…
COST BITES 409: A PART 36 CASE TO FINISH OFF THE WEEK: CLAIM £8.4 MILLION GET £102,000 (HAVING TURNED DOWN AN OFFER OF £3.175 MILLION): IT IS NOT “UNJUST” FOR THE CLAIMANT TO FACE TO NORMAL PART 36 CONSEQUENCES, NOR WOULD THE COURT “PICK AND CHOOSE” IN RELATION TO THE COSTS PAYABLE
If ever a case served as a warning to the risks of litigation it is this one. The claimant sought damages of up to £8.4 million but obtained judgment of £102,000. This turned out to be expensive litigation, with the…
RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS: AS STRONGLY WORDED A REFUSAL AS I HAVE SEEN: THE CONCEPT “DOES NOT EMBODY A PRINCIPLE OF “BREACH NOW REPENT LATER”
Here we look at a strongly worded judgment where relief from sanctions was refused. A party had exceeded the page limit set by court directions and also served the statement late. The judge dismissed the arguments that the other side…
COST BITES 405: SHOULD A SUCCESSFUL CLAIMANT’S CONDUCT LEAD TO A DEDUCTION OF 45% OF THEIR COSTS? A TOOTH DECISION…
This is a case where the judge had to consider whether a successful claimants costs should be reduced because of conduct. The judge found that there were grounds to criticise the claimant’s conduct of the action. However this could not…
SHOULD THE COURT ALLOW A “NEWLY APPOINTED” EMPLOYEE TO REPRESENT A LIMITED COMPANY AT A HEARING?
CPR 39.6 permits a company to be represented by an employee where the employee is authorised by the company and the court gives permission. We have here a case where the proposed representative only became an employee part-way through the…
ASKING THE JUDGE QUESTIONS AFTER JUDGMENT IS DELIVERED: THEY HAVE TO BE NECESSARY TO ENABLE THE PARTIES TO UNDERSTAND THE REASONING OF THE DECISION (AND THESE GO TOO FAR…)
As you can see from the “Related Posts” section below this is not the first time we have considered the position where a losing litigant has written to the judge seeking “clarification” and where the judge has felt that this…
THE NEW SRA GUIDANCE ON SUPERVISION 7: RECORDING ARRANGMENTS (IF IT ISN’T WRITTEN DOWN IT HASN’T HAPPENED…)
We are returning to the SRA Guidance on Effective Supervision, this time looking at the importance that is given to recording the supervision arrangements. It is clear that the SRA expects these to be written down. I have provided a…
THE NEW SRA GUIDANCE ON EFFECTIVE SUPERVISION 6: WHAT IS MEANT BY THE “CONDUCT OF LITIGATION”? (IT TURNS OUT ITS A MATTER OF “PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT”)
Knowing what the “conduct of litigation” means is an essential piece of knowledge for all litigators. If you allow “unauthorised” persons to conduct litigation then you (and they) are committing a criminal offence (and you are also in contempt of…
THE COURT OF APPEAL OVERTURNS A JUDICIAL REVIEW DECISION IN FAVOUR OF A SOLICITOR: THE OMBUDSMAN GOT NOTHING WRONG (QUITE A LOT HERE ABOUT VULNERABLE CLIENTS AS WELL…)
In a judgment today the Court of Appeal have overturned a High Court decision that was (partially) in favour of a solicitor who had sought judicial review of a decision of the Legal Ombudsman. The Court has restored the Ombudsman’s…
THE NEW SRA GUIDANCE ON EFFECTIVE SUPERVISION 5: GOOD PRACTICE SUGGESTIONS
We are continuing with our examination of the updated SRA Guidance on Effective Supervision. This is a relatively short section but of considerable importance. There is a series of checklists on this topic (these are produced for this blog and…
THE NEW SRA SUPERVISION GUIDANCE: WHAT LITIGATION FIRMS, AND LITIGATORS, NEED TO DO NOW: WEBINAR 25th JUNE 2025
The SRA’s new Guidance on Effective Supervision represents one of the most significant developments in the regulation of litigation practice in recent years.The guidance introduces enhanced expectations around supervision, delegation, escalation, professional judgment, accountability and quality assurance. It also carries…
SUPERVISION FOR LAWYERS: USEFUL LINKS: “REMEMBER THAT SUPERVISION HAS NUMEROUS BENEFITS”
Yesterday I wrote about the SRA Guidance in relation to choosing supervisors. Despite supervision being central to a well run, and profitable, legal practice there is little guidance given to lawyers on how to go about being a good supervisor. …
THE NEW SRA GUIDANCE ON EFFECTIVE SUPERVISION 4: “CHOOSING SUPERVISORS” (THERE IS MUCH MORE TO THIS THAN MEETS THE EYE): PLUS TWO USEFUL CHECKLISTS
Here we are continuing our look at the new SRA Guidance on Effective Supervision. Today we are looking at the section on “Choosing Supervisors” . There are five paragraphs on this in the Guidance. However this issue is fundamental to…
BOTH SIDES WANTED A STRIKE OUT FOR NON-COMPLIANCE – BUT GOT NOWHERE (A FAIRLY EXPENSIVE – AND FRUITLESS DAY OUT…): “LOCKED HORNS” AND “SPIRITED CORRESPONDENCE”
Here we have applications to strike out by both sides for alleged non-compliance with a court order. The judge described the defendants’ application as “aggressive” and the claimant’s application as a “tit for tat” application. Ultimately, however, we are looking…
THE NEW SRA GUIDANCE ON EFFECTIVE SUPERVISION 3: THE KEY THEMES – THE GUIDANCE AND TEN USEFUL CHECKLISTS
We are continuing our examination of the SRA Guidance on Effective Supervision by looking at what are identified as the “Key themes”. Here we look at the central points, the relevant guidance itself and then 10 checklists which help ensure…
THE NEW SRA GUIDANCE ON EFFECTIVE SUPERVISION: THE KEY ELEMENTS, THE GUIDANCE AND THREE USEFUL CHECKLISTS
Last week we looked at the major changes and new elements of the SRA Guidance “Effective Supervision”. The Guidance contains a totally new section on supervision in litigation. Clearly a detailed knowledge of this guidance is essential to all litigators…
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…
MAZUR MATTERS 63: THE NEW SRA GUIDANCE ON EFFECTIVE SUPERVISION: HIGHLIGHTING THE CHANGES AND THE NEW ELEMENTS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO LITIGATORS
The SRA have today published updated guidance on Effective Supervision. There are changes and additions to the pre-existing guidance. Some of these are subtle, others are major. We will look at elements of the guidance in detail in later posts. …
COST BITES 399: WHEN THE COSTS OF THE LITIGATION ALMOST ENTIRELY CONSUME THE VALUE OF THE ESTATE BEING SUED:
This is another case that litigators and litigants need to read. An action against an estate led to the net value of the estate being “almost entirely” consumed by costs. During the course of the litigation the (unsuccessful) claimant already…
COST BITES 396 : THE CLAIMANT’S CONDUCT WAS SUCH IT WAS APPROPRIATE TO AWARD INDEMNITY COSTS IN THE NATIONAL LOTTERY CASE; IT WAS NOT APPROPRIATE TO REDUCE THE SUCCESSFUL DEFENDANTS’ COSTS
We have seen many cases in which the courts have considered whether indemnity costs should be ordered. Here we have a case where the judge was clear in her view that the claimant’s conduct of the litigation was such that…
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A PARTY DOES NOT RESPOND TO A NOTICE TO ADMIT FACTS (THERE IS NO “DEEMED ADMISSION”) PLUS ANOTHER POSSIBLE “HALLUCINATED” “FICTITIOUS” RULE
This case has two important practical points. Firstly (contrary to the case put forward by the claimant) a failure to respond to a Notice to Admit facts does not give rise to an “implied admission” by the recipient of the…
THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE – LANDING SOLICITORS IN SERIOUS TROUBLE AGAIN (AND DON’T BLAME THE AI FOR EVERYTHING – IT ACTUALLY GAVE OUT WARNINGS TO CHECK…)
One day the incorrect use of AI to cite “hallucinated” authorities is going to ruin someone’s career. It may have done so already, there are a number of SRA investigations pending. The example we look at here is highly educational…
YOU CAN’T DELIBERATELY DECIDE TO IGNORE COURT (OR TRIBUNAL) DIRECTIONS: HMRC INVOLVED IN “CONTUMELIOUS” CONDUCT, ITS (LATE) APOLOGY GIVEN LITTLE WEIGHT
Here we have a case of a litigant (the HMRC no less) making a deliberate decision to ignore Tribunal directions. It then attempted to justify that decision by stating “That was a deliberate and proportionate case management decision, taken in…
A FIRM OF SOLICITORS ISSUED PROCEEDINGS WITHOUT AUTHORITY TO DO SO: ORDERED TO PAY £900,000 ON ACCOUNT OF COSTS: SOME EXPENSIVE LESSONS HERE…
Here we are not looking at a judgment as such but the reasons for an order made yesterday in the High Court. The court struck out an action and ordered that the claimants’ solicitors pay £900,000 on account of costs. …
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