PROPORTIONALITY & SURVIVAL FOR LITIGATORS: PART 2: A WHOLE NEW APPROACH?
It is no accident that there is nearly a month between the first post in this series and the second. Nor is it surprising that very little (if anything) has been written on “proportional” litigation. This is a difficult subject….
THE NEW PART 36: PART 4: WHERE A COSTS BUDGET IS LIMITED TO COURT FEES
This is the fourth in the series of posts on the new Part 36 coming into force on the 6th April 2015. The rules contain a brand new provision that deals with the position where a offeror’s costs are limited…
PROPORTIONALITY & SURVIVAL FOR LITIGATORS: LITIGATING WITHIN A BUDGET: PART 1 OF WHAT MAY WELL BE A MULTI PART SERIES
There is now plenty of material on costs budgeting, much of it can be found in links on this blog. However I have not found any guidance for litigators on how the requirement for “proportional” costs will affect their work…
COSTS, PROPORTIONALITY AND GETTING THE BUNDLES RIGHT: TAKE EVERYTHING OUT OF COURT NOW AND COME BACK TOMORROW
An earlier post reported on the observations of Mostyn J in J-v-J in relation to costs, proportionality and bundles. If you take the indignation and sense of outrage expressed in J-v-J about costs, preparation and bundles, and then quadruple it,…
COSTS INCURRED PRE-BUDGET ARE HIGHLY RELEVANT: FUTURE COSTS COULD BE DRASTICALLY REDUCED
In Redfern -v- Corby Borough Council (QBD 03/12/2014)* Judge Seymour QC upheld the decision of a deputy master that the amount of costs already incurred had a major impact upon the future costs budget. THE CLAIM The claimant was brining…
COSTS BUDGETING AND MORE CASE MANAGEMENT IN THE COURT OF PROTECTION? EXPECT IT SOON
It is only recently that the Court of Appeal has “opened its doors” so to speak on reports of its cases. The judgment of Peter Jackson J in A & B (Court of Protection: Delay & Costs) [2014] EWCOP 8…
WANT TO KNOW ABOUT ONEROUS PART 18 QUESTIONS; DISCLOSURE, COSTS CAPPING & BUDGETS: JUST GOOGLE IT
In Hegglin -v- Persons Unknown & Google Inc [2014] EWHC 3793 (QB) Mr Justice Edis considered some interesting issues of costs management and costs capping. The short judgment is important reading in relation to the scope of Part 18 questions…
"MADNESS" OVER COSTS AND USELESS TRIAL BUNDLES : VIEWS FROM ANOTHER JURISDICTION
Civil practitioners may benefit from reading the observations of Mostyn J in J -v- J [2014] EWHC 3654 (Fam). It suggests that family lawyers may soon be subject to much more rigorous costs budgeting. There are also important observations about…
HELP WITH COSTS BUDGETING AND PRECEDENT H: ALL THE USEFUL LINKS IN ONE PLACE – UPDATED
THERE ARE NUMEROUS POSTS ON THIS BLOG ABOUT COSTS BUDGETING AND PRECDENT H. THESE ARE UPDATED ON A REGULAR BASIS. AS A REMINDER HERE ARE THE IMPORTANT LINKS TO GUIDANCE ON COSTS BUDGETING AND PRECEDENT H MOST RECENT LINKS…
COSTS BUDGETS IN HIGH VALUE CASES, ADR AND CASE MANAGEMENT: A VERY IMPORTANT HIGH COURT CASE
In CIP Properties (AIPT) Ltd -v- Galliford Try Infrastructures Ltd [2014] EWHC 3546 (TCC) Mr Justice Coulson set out important principles in relation to granting specific stays to allow ADR, Case Management and the ability of the court to impose…
COSTS CAPPING IN THE COURT OF APPEAL: ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF COSTS CAPPING BEING REFUSED
We have looked before at issues relating to costs capping in the Court of Appeal. I am grateful to Claire Darwin of Matrix Chambers for bringing my attention to the case of Black -v- Arriva North East Ltd [2014] EWCA…
TALK ON SANCTIONS AND HOW TO AVOID THEM: LEEDS 23rd OCTOBER 2014
I am taking part in the Costs and Litigation Funding Update organised by Clarion solicitors and K2 Legal Support in Leeds on the 23rd October 2014. I am talking on “sanctions and how to avoid them” .Other speakers are dealing…
COSTS CAPPING IN THE COURT OF APPEAL: DON'T BANK ON THE TIDE BEING IN YOUR FAVOUR
In Tidal Energy -v- Bank of Scotland Plc Arden L.J. considered, and rejected, an application for costs capping in relation to a forthcoming Court of Appeal hearing. The Court was keen to discourage satellite litigation in the Court of Appeal….
INDEMNITY COSTS, COSTS BUDGETING AND WITNESS STATEMENTS:INTERVIEW ON KELLIE -v- LLOYD
There is a feature on the Lexis Nexis Dispute Resolution Blog where I answer questions about the implications of the judgment in Kellie and another v Wheatley & Lloyd Architects Ltd [2014] EWHC 2886 (TCC), [2014] All ER (D) 152 (Aug)…
INTERIM COSTS ORDERS: USEFUL GUIDES AND LINKS
I was asked to speak at the Inaugural meeting of the Yorkshire Branch of the Association of Cost Lawyers recently. One matter that came up in discussion was how rarely applications were made for interim applications for costs. This can…
THE RISK OF INDEMNITY COSTS: WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO TELL YOUR CLIENT?
The idea of costs budgeting was, in part at least, to give the parties some certainty as to the costs they would have to face it they lost an action. However the decision in Kellie & Kellie -v- Wheatley &…
COSTS BUDGETING: CONDUCT, INDEMNITY COSTS AND PAYMENT ON ACCOUNT: KELLIE -v- WHEATLEY CONSIDERED
We looked at the decision in Kellie & Kellie -v- Wheatley & Lloyd Architects Ltd[2014] EWHC 2866(TCC) yesterday in the context of drafting witness statements. The judgment is equally interesting on the issue of costs and costs budgeting. There is an…
A 20 DAY TRIAL WHEN THE CASE WAS ALL ABOUT ONE WITNESS: WOULD THIS CASE BE ANY DIFFERENT TODAY?
Back in 2003 Chris Evans, the radio presenter, was involved in a lengthy contractual dispute with a number of defendants. There were 9 parties to the action and the trial went on for twenty days. The judge’s observations at the…
LITIGATION AFTER JACKSON (POST DENTON EDITION): 12 POINT SURVIVAL GUIDE
In August last year I wrote Litigation after Jackson a 10 point Survival Guide. All of the points made in that post remain valid. I have added another 2 to deal with the situation post -Denton. The biggest danger, post…
PRECEDENT H AND COSTS BUDGETING: NEW LINKS AND OLD LINKS
There are several posts on this blog which link to guides, articles and assistance on costs budgeting and Precedent H. Here there are several more recent links. The Construction of a Costs Budget is particularly instructive PREVIOUS POSTS One of…
CIVIL PROCEDURE – HOW IT SHOULD BE DONE: A DESCRIPTION OF HOW THE ASBESTOS COURT WORKS
Anyone want to see a description of a civil procedure system running smoothly then read Master McCloud’s description of the “asbestos disease court” in her judgment in Yates -v- Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs [2014] EWCH 2311 (QB)….
LEEDS LAW SOCIETY MEET THE JUDGES EVENT: JACKSON ONE YEAR (AND A FEW MONTHS) ON
Yesterday evening Leeds Law Society held a “meet the judges” evening when practitioners met local judges and court staff to discuss issues arising out of the implementation of the Jackson reforms. Some of the issues were specific to Leeds but most…
COSTS DRAFTSMAN SIGNING COSTS BUDGET DOES NOT RENDER IT A NULLITY: HIGH COURT DECISION TODAY CONSIDERED
There may be no end to the Mitchell points being taken. In a case earlier today, Americhem Europe Ltd -v- Rakem Ltd [2014] EWHC 1881 (TCC) e Mr Justice Stuart-Smith considered an argument that the costs budget signed by a…
PROVISIONAL ASSESSMENT OF COSTS: LINKS TO HELPFUL GUIDANCE
The post on summary assessment yesterday led me to many links in relation to help with provisional assessment. Given that the post on Guidance on Precedent H is one of the most popular posts on the blog I thought it…
PROVING SOMETHING HAS BEEN POSTED: SWEAR IT TO BE TRUE
I initially read the Court of Appeal decision of Price -v- Price [2014[ EWCA] Civ with interest because it showed that the old CPR 3.9 still applied in family proceedings. However Jon Williams pointed out that the case has an…
"ESSENTIAL CHECKLISTS": THE COMPLETE LIST
The “Essential Checklist” series developed out of a workshop series in a course I gave last month. Six groups produced six checklists. Here is a link to them all. SERVICE OF PROCEEDINGS: (“SERVICE WITH A SMILE”) Essential points before the…
COSTS AND COSTS BUDGETING SOME ESSENTIAL CHECKLISTS: GROUP H AT WORK
This is the checklist produced by Group H. You can see the cost lawyer’s concerns at work in relation to the proper allocation of the case and the need to keep an ongoing record. Of particular interest is the…
COSTS, COSTS BUDGETING AND MAKING A LIVING: THE PREQUEL TO THE ESSENTIAL CHECKLIST
The fourth in our “essential checklist” series was prepared by a group that called itself “Group H”. The checklist addresses issues relating to recording and recovering costs. GROUP H This was the only group where I was involved in some…
A TWO DAY BREACH IS "TRIVIAL": ANOTHER CASE WHERE RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS GRANTED AFTER LATE SERVICE OF COSTS BUDGET
In Azure East Midlands Ltd -v- Manchester Aiport Group Ltd [2014] EWHC 1644 (TCC) His Honour Judge Grant made an order for relief from sanctions where a costs budget was served two days late. THE BREACH The claimant filed its…
SURVIVING MITCHELL 18: RECOGNISING THAT 99.8% OF LITIGATORS ARE STARK RAVING BONKERS
There is a growing trend of “cannibalism” in the legal profession. Advertisements on my local radio station this morning were asking “do you want to sue your lawyer”? What is the legal profession doing to protect itself? The answer is…
RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS: WHAT DOES “TRIVIAL” ACTUALLY MEAN? A LOOK AT THE CASES
If you attend one of the, numerous, “Jackson” and “Mitchell” conferences that abound at the moment you can easily make the lecturer sweat. Ask them to define “trivial”. Whether a breach is “trivial” or not is crucial to the way…
A BUDGET SERVED A DAY LATE IS A “TRIVIAL” ERROR: WAIN –v- GLOUCESTERSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL [2014] EWHC 1274 (TCC) CONSIDERED
It was made clear in Mitchell that the courts should not concern themselves with “trivial” breaches, however what was meant by “trivial” was never defined. In Wain –v- Gloucestershire County Council Judge Grant, sitting as a judge of the High…
CAN MITCHELL BE UTILISED IF THERE ARE SEVERAL MINOR BREACHES? UTILISE -v- CRANSTOUN CONSIDERED: LATE FILING OF COSTS BUDGETS CAUSES ANOTHER PARTY TO COME TO GRIEF
In Utilise -v- Cranstoun [2014] EWHC 834 (Ch) Judge Hodge QC, sitting as a judge of the High Court, considered another issue arising out of the Mitchell criteria – in essence what is the effect of two trivial breaches on…
WHAT THE JACKSON REPORT SAID 2: WILL COSTS BUDGETING REDUCE COSTS?
There has been considerable controversy on the issue of whether costs budgeting actually leads to a reduction in costs. In this anniversary month it is worthwhile looking back at the report. In particular the question of whether costs budgeting would…
UPDATED GUIDANCE: LINKS TO HELP IN COMPLETING PRECEDENT H AND COSTS BUDGETING
Some blog posts always have a regular and large number of visitors each day. The post in January on “On-Line Guidance on filling in Form H” is one of these. Here I provide links to developments since January and to…
LORD JACKSON'S RESPONSE TO THE CIVIL JUSTICE COUNCIL
The Civil Justice Council review of the Jackson reforms received 70 papers in total. The only ones generally available, to the best of my knowledge, are the ones available on this blog and the paper provided by Lord Jackson which…
ARGUMENT ABOUT TIME FOR SERVING COSTS BUDGET "MANIFEST NONSENSE": RATTAN -V- UBS CONSIDERED IN FULL
Highly technical points are now being taken as a matter of course. Some succeed. Some come to grief. This is what happened to the point in relation to service of the Precedent H costs budget in Rattan -v- UBS [2014] EWHC 665…
SURVIVING MITCHELL 12: READ LEGAL ORANGE AND LITIGATION FUTURES TODAY
The links section of this blog points readers to many and various useful posts and articles on procedure. Today, however there are two that need singling out as part of the “Surviving Mitchell” strategy. LEGAL ORANGE Reading Mitchell-Proofing your claim…
AMENDED CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE NOTICE: BIRMINGHAM MERCANTILE COURT: A WHOLE HOST OF USEFUL LINKS FOR CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCES
Following the 69th amendment to the Civil Procedure Rules Birmingham Mercantile Court has revised its Case Management Conference Notice. This deals with the new statement of truth from the 22nd April. The Notice is worth reading even if you don’t…
CHANGES TO STATEMENT OF TRUTH ON PRECEDENT H: NOT APRIL THE FIRST – THE MOJ GOT THE DATE WRONG
There has been a lot of publicity surrounding the new statement of truth on the Form H. The situation has not been helped by the fact that the MOJ gave the wrong date for implementation of the change. The date…
COSTS BUDGETING, CASE MANAGEMENT & TECHNOLOGY: FREE BUNDLE PREPARATION FOR CASE MANAGEMENT HEARINGS: USEFUL DOCUMENTS AND LINKS
Case management and costs budgeting remain one of the Jackson innovations we are still getting used to. There are several useful guides that assist, plus one company offers a free service providing the bundle for the Case Management Conference. This…
FAILING TO SIGN STATEMENT OF TRUTH DOES NOT MEAN COSTS BUDGET WAS FILED OUT OF TIME: HIGH COURT DECISION
It has to be recognised that the decision in Mitchell means, inevitably, that parties will take issue with minor breaches. Indeed it may be negligent for them not do so. In The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland…
YOUR CHANCE TO COMMENT ON THE IMPACT OF THE JACKSON REFORMS: CIVIL JUSTICE COUNCIL CONFERENCE
I have heard a lot comments on the impact of the Jackson Reforms, (some of it unprintable). The Civil Justice Council is holding a conference in March on the impact of the reforms and is inviting “position papers”. I would…
SENDING DOCUMENTS TO THE COURT BY E-MAIL: THE PRACTICE DIRECTION AND POTENTIAL PROBLEM AREAS
An earlier post about the problems of serving documents by e-mail led to a flurry of comments on twitter about similar issues in relation to filing documents at court . I am awaiting some reports of cases where the lodging…
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ONE BUDGET IS PROVIDED INSTEAD OF THREE? IS THERE A BREACH AND WOULD THE COURT GRANT RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS?
Arguments about the form of compliance are likely to become as commonplace as about the time of compliance. These arguments were considered by Master Kay Q.C. Important observations are made about the appropriate form for costs budgets when one or…
ANOTHER HIGH PROFILE COSTS BUDGETING ERROR: BURT -v- LINFORD CHRISTIE
The Mitchell case was about a failure to file a costs budget in time. In Burt -v- Linford Christie the court refused relief from sanctions where the defendant filed to file the costs budget in time. The application was considered…
AN ASSESSMENT OF COSTS BITES THE DUST: COURT RESOURCES, PROPORTIONALITY AND COURT PATIENCE IN THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS.
The decision of Mr Justice Teare in Mount Eden Land Ltd –v- Speechly Bircham [2014] EWHC 169 (QB) is a case of the courts ending a detailed and lengthy costs assessment because of the behaviour of the claimant. It has wider…
THE COURT DIDN’T TELL ME TO FILE PRECEDENT H! WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE PARTIES FAIL TO FILE COSTS BUDGETS BECAUSE OF BEING MISLED BY A COURT FORM?
The penalties for failing to file Precedent H in time are draconian. What happens if the parties do not file Precedent H because they are misled by the court directions? In Aliasghas Porbanderwalla –v- Daybridge Ltd HH Judge Worster allowed an…
APIL: MONITORING OF COSTS BUDGETING AND RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS.
The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers is monitoring both costs budget and relief from sanctions. It has asked for information from members on these issues. If you are not a member (you could always join) APIL may still welcome input…
COSTS MANAGEMENT HEARINGS AND FORM H: PRACTICAL GUIDANCE AND A USEFUL SCHEDULE
Costs Management hearings are still relatively novel. A previous post set out links to posts and articles that provide some guidance. Here are a few practical tips and a useful Schedule to highlight the differences. YOU CAN’T HAVE THINGS TWICE:…
