ASSESSMENT OF COSTS: UNDER SPEND OF A PHASE – NOT A GOOD REASON TO DEPART FROM THE BUDGET
In Utting v City College Norwich [2020] EWHC B20 (Costs) Master Brown rejected an argument that an “underspend” amounted to a good reason to depart from a budget. I am grateful to Paul Kay from R Costings for drawing this…
THE (NOT SO) LONELY LITIGATOR’S CLUB 25: CLAIRE GREEN: THE COST LAWYER’S TALE (OR TWO TAILS IN FACT)
Our club is going to need a costs lawyer or two. So for our first costs lawyer member I went straight to the top. Claire Green is currently Chairman of the Association of Costs Lawyers ( ACL) as well as…
ALDRED -V- CHAM: PERMISSION TO APPEAL REFUSED BY THE SUPREME COURT
In November last year I reported on the case of Aldred -v- Cham [2019] EWCA Civ 1780, in relation to the recoverability of counsel’s fees in child approval cases. I am grateful to Matthew Hoe from Taylor Rose who informs me…
COVID REPEATS 25: COSTS WHEN A CLAIMANT RECEIVES NOMINAL DAMAGES: YOU’VE TURNED DOWN £1.5 MILLION, RECEIVED £2 & NOW HAVE TO FACE THE CONSEQUENCES
Failing to beat a Part 36 offer is always painful. Failing to beat an offer of £1.5 million and receiving £2 is, most probably, even more painful. Here we look at the second part of the case discussed yesterday. In Marathon…
UNSUCCESSFUL DEFENDANTS ORDERED TO PAY SUCCESSFUL DEFENDANT’S COSTS: THE RELEVANT FACTORS CONSIDERED
One of the most difficult decisions in litigation, particularly personal injury litigation, can be deciding which defendant to sue. This can be a problem with occupier’s liability or construction site cases where potential defendants are blaming each other. A defendant…
CORONAVIRUS CATCH UP 2: COSTS AND BUDGETING
Here there are short snippets of cases relating to costs decision in the past month or so which may have been displaced by the commentary on COVID-19. Rippon Patel And French LLP v Mowlam [2020] EWHC 1079 (QB) An…
LITIGATION, CASHFLOW AND COVID 2: INTERIM PAYMENTS ON ACCOUNT OF COSTS
It is often said that cashflow is the lifeblood of business and this is never more so than in the current situation. Here we are looking at orders for interim payments when a case, or an issue in a case,…
LITIGATION, CASHFLOW & COVID 1: DETAILED ASSESSMENTS CAN STILL GO ON (& HERE’S HOW…)
In the first in a series of litigation and cashflow during the COVID crisis I am recommending that you read a post by my colleague Kevin Latham – How to Make Remote Detailed Assessments Work. LATHAM’S LAWS Kevin sets out…
GUIDANCE FOR THE CONDUCT OF REMOTE COSTS HEARINGS: READ ALL ABOUT IT
The Association of Cost Lawyers has a link on its site to agreed guidance for the Guidance of Remote Hearings. This is designed to ensure that assessments can continue remotely during social isolation. Litigation Futures has a useful summary of…
KEEPING YOUR LAW FIRM GOING DURING THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS (4): SITES THAT HELP
In the fourth in this series we look at general guides and resources from around the world available to help law firms survive the profound difficulties posed by coronavirus. LexisNexis offers a free Coronavirus Resource Kit to help prepare your…
KEEPING YOUR LAW FIRM GOING DURING THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS (3): CASH FLOW
In the third in this series we look at the help and guidance in relation to cashflow. This is a important topic for every law firm and chambers. It is also a subject on which some lawyers may have to…
CIVIL PROCEDURE AND COSTS: BLOG AND ARTICLES ROUND UP – MARCH 2020 (CORONAVIRUS FREE EDITION)
Links and articles to blog posts and articles available online in February 2020 (a separate post will deal with the many posts and articles last month on civil procedure and coronavirus). Costs Costs Barrister Hot air Costs Barrister Digital in design Association…
CLAIMANT BEATS OWN PART 36 OFFER: DEFENDANT ORDERED TO PAY INDEMNITY COSTS FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD BECAUSE OF ITS CONDUCT
I am grateful to Sam Hayman from Bolt Burdon Kemp for drawing my attention to the decision today of Mr Justice Griffiths in DSN v Blackpool Football Club Ltd [2020] EWHC 670 (QB). The defendant was ordered to pay indemnity…
CHALLENGING COST BUDGET PHASES ON ASSESSMENT: DECISION TODAY: PARTY CHALLENGING BUDGETED PHASE HAS AN UPHILL TASK
My colleague Paul Hughes has provided a link to a judgment today of District Judge Lumb in the case of Chapman -v- Norfolk & Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, available here. The judgment considers the issue of when a…
IF THE CAP DON’T FIT A JUDGE DOESN’T HAVE TO ACQUIT: THE ARKIN CAP IN THE COURT OF APPEAL
In the judgment today in Chapelgate Credit Opportunity Master Fund Ltd v Money & Ors [2020] EWCA Civ 24 the Court of Appeal upheld a decision not to apply the “Arkin cap” to a party that had been funding litigation. …
STRIKING OUT POINTS OF DISPUTE BECAUSE OF LACK OF PARTICULARISATION: PARTIES HAVE TO KNOW WHAT IS IN DISPUTE AND WHY
In Ainsworth v Stewarts Law LLP [2020] EWCA Civ 178 the Court of Appeal upheld a decision striking out part of points of dispute. “Common sense dictates that the points of dispute must be drafted in a way which enables…
NO PROTECTIVE COSTS ORDER FOR APPELLANT IN ACCOMMODATION APPEAL: COURT OF APPEAL DECISION TODAY
In the judgment in Swift v Carpenter [2020] EWCA Civ 165 today the Court of Appeal rejected the claimant’s application for a Protected Costs Order. There are important observations on (i) the scope of Protected Costs Orders; (ii) the exercise…
THE SET OFF OF COSTS AND QOCS: A HIGH COURT DECISION: THE COURT HAS A DISCRETION TO SET OFF COSTS – BUT ON THE FACTS OF THIS CASE WOULD NOT DO SO
In the judgment given this morning in Faulkner -v- Secretary of State for Energy and Industrial Strategy [2020] EWHC 296 (QB) Mr Justice Turner considered the issue of whether a defendant, ordered to pay costs when failing in an application…
CLAIMANT’S MEDICAL EXPERT ORDERED TO PAY DEFENDANT’S COSTS: EXPERTS PLEASE NOTE (EXPERTS’ INSURERS NOTE CAREFULLY)
In Thimmaya -v- Lancashire NHS Foundation Trust (30th January 2020, Manchester County Court) HHJ Claire Evans ordered that a medical expert pay a significant part of the defendant’s costs when she found that the expert had failed in his duties…
FIXED COSTS OUSTED BY AGREEMENT: INSURER HAS TO STAND BY THE DEAL IT STRUCK
I am grateful to barrister Andrew Roy for sending me a copy of the decision of District Judge Baldwin (sitting as a Regional Costs Judge) in Turner -v- Cole (16th December 2019). It is a case where the judge held…