REDUCTION IN VALUE OF CLAIM AND REDUCTION IN HOURLY RATES DID NOT REPRESENT A GOOD REASON TO DEPART FROM THE BUDGET
In Jallow v Ministry of Defence [2018] EWHC B7 (Costs) Master Rowley rejected an argument that the settlement of a claim for a sum less than that claimed and a reduction in hourly rates for incurred costs represented “good reasons”…
IDENTIFYING THE SUCCESSFUL PARTY AND MAKING A COSTS ORDER: PARTIALLY SUCCESSFUL CLAIMANT’S APPEAL ALLOWED: DEFENDANT ORDERED TO PAY 60% OF THE COSTS.
In Wall v Munday [2018] EWHC 879 (Ch) HHJ Paul Matthews (sitting as a High Court Judge) allowed an appeal in relation to costs. The judge at first instance had ordered the claimant to pay 80% of the defendant’s costs. That…
CIVIL PROCEDURE – BACK TO BASICS 6: NON-DISCLOSURE OF A PART 36 OFFER
This post is caused by some comments on Twitter this evening. A surprising number of cases where parties have, by one method or other, disclosed a Part 36 offer. This has been done by including the offers in the trial…
UNREASONABLE FAILURE TO USE PROTOCOL WILL LEAD TO FIXED COSTS BEING AWARDED: COURT OF APPEAL DECISION: CPR 44 RULES THE DAY
In Williams v The Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy [2018] EWCA Civ 852 the Court of Appeal considered the issue of the personal injury protocol and fixed costs. It was held that CPR 44 has sufficient width…
THE JUDGMENT IN ALI -v- CHANNEL 5 3: WHY A DEFENDANT SHOULD ALWAYS FILE A COSTS BUDGET: A REMINDER OF THE RULES
The final part of this trilogy on the judgment today in Ali & Anor v Channel 5 Broadcast Ltd [2018] EWHC 840 (Ch) shows why the defendant will be kicking themselves for not filing a costs budget. Some defendants are fairly…
THE JUDGMENT IN ALI -V- CHANNEL 5 2: CLAIMANTS FAILED TO BEAT PART 36 OFFER, NO GOOD REASON TO DEPART FROM NORMAL COSTS CONSEQUENCES
This is the second post about the decision on costs in Ali & Anor v Channel 5 Broadcast Ltd [2018] EWHC 840 (Ch). Here we look at the issue relating to Part 36. The defendant had made a Part 36 offer….
THE JUDGMENT IN ALI -V- CHANNEL 5 1: THE ALLEGED FAILURE TO MEDIATE
The judgment on costs issues today in Ali & Anor v Channel 5 Broadcast Ltd [2018] EWHC 840 (Ch) covers a number of issues. I am dealing with each distinct issue in a separate post. The first deals with costs following…
THE CLEVELAND BRIDGE CASE: A SECOND CROSSING: PAYMENTS ON ACCOUNT OF COSTS
Judgments dealing with payments on account of costs are rare, but illuminating. Particularly when the costs budget is taken as the starting point. There is a detailed consideration of this issue in Cleveland Bridge UK Ltd v Sarens (UK) Ltd [2018]…
LIEN, THE SOLICITOR AND THE INSURER: NO SAFE HAVEN FOR DEFENDANTS
The judgment of the Supreme Court this morning in Gavin Edmondson Solicitors Ltd v Haven Insurance Company Ltd [2018] UKSC 21. It confirms that solicitors are entitled to costs in cases where the defendant’s insurer, knowing of the solicitor’s involvement, settled…
MAKING UNWARRANTED ASSERTIONS LEADS TO INDEMNITY COSTS – AGAINST A SECRETARY OF STATE
There are numerous cases where the courts have considered conduct that leads to indemnity costs. In Secretary of State for the Home Department v Barry [2018] EWCA Civ 790 the Court of Appeal found that the Home Department’s conduct of an…
THE NEW ELECTRONIC BILL OF COSTS: ONE DAY TO GO: USEFUL LINKS AND GUIDANCE
The electronic bill of costs will be compulsory from the 6th April. Here are some useful links to help you prepare and survive. I will add to these if anyone has any particular recommendations. PRACTICE DIRECTIONS The Practice Direction…
“PERSUASION”: APPLICATIONS & EVIDENCE: ATTEND A COURSE AND SUPPORT CHILDREN’S LITERACY: 18th APRIL 2018 – LINCOLN’S INN
On the 18th April 2018 I am involved in a talk at Hardwicke, in Lincoln’s Inn. With a number of my colleagues we are talking on “Persuasion” Applications and Evidence for Defendants and Insurers”. All proceeds go directly to a…
CLAIMANTS COSTS REDUCED BECAUSE OF FAILURE ON CERTAIN POINTS: 15% AND 50% REDUCTION
In Civilians v Ministry of Defence [2018] EWHC 690 (QB) Mr Justice Leggatt reduced the costs of the successful party due to the fact that the claimants failed on some issues. THE CASE The claimants had been successful in an action…
WHEN THE JUDGE IS ENTITLED NOT TO DECIDE ON THE EVIDENCE: PLUS THE IMPORTANT ISSUE OF CONDUCT AND COSTS
The Court of Appeal decision today in Constandas v Lysandrou & Ors [2018] EWCA Civ 613 illustrates two distinct issues: The position when a judge is unable to make a finding on the evidence. What conduct can lead to a successful…
THE TIME FOR CHALLENGING A BILL HAS PROBABLY LONG GONE: AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN REFUSING AN APPLICATION FOR DELIVERY UP
There is a battle (or a series of skirmishes) going on at present in relation to solicitors charging success fees to their clients in personal injury cases. This has led to numerous applications to the courts for disclosure. The former…
ROUND ONE: WHAT IS A”WIN” UNDER A CFA? ROUND TWO: THE ASSIGNMENT OF CFAS: FORMER CLIENT DOES NOT SCORE A KNOCKOUT BLOW
In Warren v Hill Dickinson LLP [2018] EWHC B6 (Costs) Master Leonard considered what was meant by the term “win” in a conditional fee agreement. He also considered whether a CFA was properly assigned. The former client (the claimant in this…
SUCCESSFUL CHALLENGE TO 100% SUCCESS FEE UPHELD ON APPEAL: HIGH COURT JUDGMENT TODAY: SOLICITOR AND OWN CLIENT ASSESSMENT OF COSTS
In Herbert v HH Law Ltd [2018] EWHC 580 (QB) Mr Justice Soole refused a solicitor’s appeal against a decision reducing the success fee from 100% to 15%. This is a very important decision for claimant personal injury lawyers who, habitually,…
QOCS IN HYBRID CASES: CLAIMANT NOT ENTITLED TO FULL EXTENT OF QOCS PROTECTION: ORDERED TO PAY 25% OF THE COSTS
In the judgment today in Siddiqui v University of Oxford [2018] EWHC 536 (QB) Mr Justice Foskett considered an issue as to costs where the claim brought was partially a personal injury claim. The judge held that the claim, for…
CHANGING FROM LEGAL AID TO A CFA: JUDGMENT IN THE COURT OF APPEAL: DEFENDANTS’ APPEAL ALLOWED: ADDITIONAL LIABILITIES NOT RECOVERABLE
I am grateful to Sean Linley of PIC costings for sending me a copy of the Court of Appeal judgement in Surrey -v- Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust [2018] EWCA Civ 451. This is the latest in the…
HOURLY RATES, INCURRED COSTS AND THE COST BUDGET: AGREED BUDGETS HAVE NO SPECIAL STATUS: HOURLY RATES NOT A GOOD REASON TO DEPART FROM THE BUDGET
The judgment of Master Nagalingam in Nash v Ministry of Defence [2018] EWHC B4 (Costs) covers several issues relating to costs budgets. The Master found that a reduction in hourly rates in relation to incurred costs did not lead to any…