COST BITES 33: BUDGETS: PROPORTIONALITY, COUNSEL’S FEES (“STRATOSPHERIC”, OR “ASPIRATIONAL”) THE COST OF EXPERTS AND THE COSTS OF TRIAL
There is a detailed exposition of the principles relating to costs budgeting in the judgment of Mrs Justice Joanna Smith in Various Sam Borrowers v BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 1 Plc & Ors [2022] EWHC 2594 (Ch). The judgment…
COST BITES 30: OTHER PEOPLE’S BUDGETS: NONE OF THESE BUDGETS IS UNREASONABLE OR DISPROPORTIONATE
It is always interesting to look at the figures involved in relation to costs budgeting. We can see an example in the decision of Mr Roger Ter Haar KC in University of Manchester v John McAslan & Partners Ltd &…
COST BITES 29: THE PRINCIPLES OF BUDGETING CONSIDERING AND APPLIED: 15% REDUCTION TO BUDGET
In Associated Newspapers Ltd v Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd (Cost Budgeting) [2022] EWHC 2767 (TCC) Mr Roger Ter Haar KC considered principles relating to the budgeting process. He reduced a budget by 15% across the board. “In my judgment, the…
THE CONSEQUENCES OF FAILING TO FILE A BUDGET DISCUSSION REPORT: A CASE TO CONSIDER
I am grateful to Jodie Davis from Irwin Mitchell for sending me a note of a judgment given in a case relating to non-service of the Budget discussion report. The note is reproduced in full below. There is an interesting…
IMPOSING A COSTS CAP CANNOT BE A MEANS OF STIFLING LITIGATION OR ACHIEVING OTHER ENDS BY THE BACK DOOR: DEFENDANT’S APPLICATION FOR PERMISSION TO APPEAL REFUSED
There are rules governing the citation of judgments refusing permission to appeal. However the judgment of Lord Justice Coulson in PGI Group Ltd v Thomas & Ors (Application for Permission to Appeal) [2022] EWCA Civ 233 has been put on BAILII…
PROVING THINGS 222: SPENDING £200,000 IN COSTS OVER 9 INCHES OF LAND: BEYOND THE JUDGE’S COMPREHENSION AS TO HOW THIS GOT SO EXPENSIVE
In Davis & Anor v Winner [2021] EW Misc 23 (CC) the parties between them appear to have spent over £200,000 in costs. This is a dispute over inches of land. It is not surprising that HHJ Mithani QC expressed…
DOMESTIC BUILDING LITIGATION AND PREVENTING FINANCIAL DISASTER: SUGGESTIONS FROM THE CIRCUIT BENCH
In The Sky’s the Limit Transformations Ltd v Mirza [2022] EWHC 29 (TCC) HHJ Stephen Davies makes a number of suggestions designed to mitigate the potentially ruinous costs of litigation in relation to domestic building disputes. ” … it would…
SOLICITOR AND OWN COSTS ASSESSMENT: HIGH COURT UPHOLDS DECISION THAT CLIENT NOT LIABLE TO PAY ADDITIONAL COUNSEL’S FEES: SOLICITOR TERMINATED THE RETAINER AND COULD NOT RECOVER COSTS
I wrote about the first instance decision in Murray v Richard Slade And Co Ltd [2021] EWHC 3383 (QB), in two posts in January this year, the first is here, the second here. The claimant in that case (the solicitor…
DEFENDANT WHO DID NOT FILE A REVISED COSTS BUDGET COULD NOT (NECESSARILY) RECOVER THE COSTS OF A COUNTERCLAIM
In Bhat & Anor v Patel & Anor [2021] EWHC 2960 (Ch) Mrs Justice Fancourt held that defendants, who had not filed a revised costs budget, were not entitled to recover the costs of that counterclaim unless a relief from…
BUDGETED COSTS ARE NOT NECESSARILY THE LOWEST COSTS ( & THE COURT SHOULD ADOPT A CAUTIOUS APPROACH TO MAKING COMMENTS IN RELATION TO INCURRED COSTS): HIGH COURT DECISION
In Discovery Land Company, LLC & Ors v Axis Specialty Europe SE [2021] EWHC 2146 (Comm) Peter MacDonald Eggers QC (sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court) set out some of the principles relating to costs budgeting, in…
“I EXPECTED THAT THE LAWYERS IN THE CASE WOULD WORK CONSCIENTOUSLY WORK WITHIN THE BUDGET WHICH I HAD SET. SADLY, I SENSE, THAT THEY HAVE NOT TRIED VERY HARD TO DO SO”
In Z (No.2) (Schedule 1: Further Legal Costs Funding Order; Further Interim Financial Provision) [2021] EWFC 72 Mr Justice Cobb carried out what was, essentially, a cost budgeting exercise in a family case. There are important observations about the need…
CASES IN THE ASBESTOS LIST ARE NOT SUBJECT TO COSTS BUDGETING: THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS…
In Smith v W Ford & Sons (Contractors) Ltd [2021] EWHC 1749 (QB) Master Davison refused a defendant’s application that costs budgeting take place in a case that was in the Asbestos list. “These listing arrangements cannot accommodate costs budgeting….
SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THE CASE IS COSTS BUDGETED? WHEN IS THE SOLICITOR EXPECTED TO JUMP?
In Thompson -v- NSL Limited [2021] EWHC 679 (QB) Master McCloud considered the issue of whether there had been significant developments sufficient to allow a revision of the costs budget when it was known at the time the budget was…
APPLYING TO VARY A COSTS BUDGET: RULES AND PROCEDURE: WEBINAR 19TH MAY 2021
On the 19th May 2021 I am presenting a webinar on applying to vary a costs budget. Booking details are available here. WHAT THE WEBINAR COVERS Making sure that the budget is, and remains, correct is an important part…
APPLYING TO VARY A COSTS BUDGET: RULES AND PROCEDURE: WEBINAR 19th MAY 2021
On the 19th May 2021 I am presenting a webinar on applying to vary a costs budget. Booking details are available here. WHAT THE WEBINAR COVERS Making sure that the budget is, and remains, correct is an important part of…
APPLICATIONS TO VARY A COSTS BUDGET: SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS, PROMPTNESS AND CPR 3.15A: A JUDGMENT THAT EVERY CIVIL LITIGATOR HAS TO READ
In Persimmon Homes Ltd & Anor v Osborne Clark LLP & Anor [2021] EWHC 831 (Ch) Master Kaye provides a “cut out and keep” guide for anyone involved in attempting to vary a costs budget. There are important points made…
PERSONAL INJURY COSTS 2021: WATCH THE “SAINT AND GREAVSIE” OF THE COSTS BAR
My colleagues Craig Ralph and Andrew Hogan have delivered a webinar “Personal Injury Costs 2021” which is now available on the Kings Chambers website. THE WEBINAR The webinar takes you through the hot topics relating to personal injury costs. …
SANCTIONS FOR LATE FAILURE TO FILE A COSTS BUDGET DO NOT APPLY TO INCURRED COSTS: REPORT OF A COUNTY COURT DECISION
Recommended reading today is a useful report from PIC available here in relation to a decision in Hardy -v- Skeelis (4th March 2021, County Court at Stoke, HHJ Rawlings). The appeal decision confirms that the sanctions imposed for failing to…
“THE DEVELOPING BODY OF LAW AS TO THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COSTS MANAGEMENT AND DETAILED ASSESSMENT”: INTERIM ORDER FOR COSTS AFTER A TRIAL: 90% OF BUDGETED COSTS 70% OF INCURRED COSTS
The courts have been supportive of applications for interim costs for a successful party after a trial. The interim payment at this stage is not nominal and is normally firmly based on the budgeted costs. A working example can be…
CIVIL PROCEDURE BACK TO BASICS 89: THE 2% CAP ON COSTS BUDGETING: SOMETHING TO WATCH OUT FOR
Some draft orders for CCMCs I have seen recently included, towards the end a provision for the 2% cap on the budgeting process to be be applied. Anyone faced with such a draft should point to the provisions of CPR…