The judgment of Mr Justice Martin Spencer in Czernuszka v King [2023] EWHC 380 (KB) contains important observations in relation to the duty of care owed to those taking place in sporting activities. It also shows the important role of…
Here we are looking at a case where District Judge Lumb made a clear finding of fundamental dishonesty on the part of a personal injury claimant. That finding was confirmed, or perhaps compounded, by the judge’s views in relation to…
We are returning to the judgment of Mr Justice Ritchie in GKE v Gunning [2023] EWHC 332 (KB). This time to look at the judge’s observations on the claimant’s expert on liability. The judge observed that the claimant had instructed the…
In the third in this series I thought it would be useful to highlight what informed commentators are saying in relation the new rules. I have gathered a range of views below. I have taken some key comments, however reading…
In National Iranian Oil Company v Crescent Petroleum Company International Limited & Anor [2023] EWHC 300 (Comm) Mr Justice Butcher refused an application for permission to appeal to be subject to a condition of payment into court. The court had…
There have been a number of cases relating to non-party costs orders. The claimant’s application for such an order failed in Paper Mache Tiger Ltd v Lee Mathews Workroom PTY Ltd [2023] EWHC 338 (Comm). John Kimbell KC, sitting as…
There are relatively few cases relating to vulnerable witnesses in civil courts. In GKE v Gunning [2023] EWHC 332 (KB) Mr Justice Ritchie considered the terms of an order made to protect a vulnerable witness. Although the wording of the…
In Harrington Scott Ltd v Coupe Bradbury Solicitors Ltd [2023] EWHC 294 (Ch) HHJ Hodge KC, sitting as a High Court Judge, decided that the costs of an application that was adjourned due to an inappropriate time estimate should not…
There are many aspects of the judgment of Mr Justice Fancourt in Mackenzie v Rosenblatt Solicitors & Anor [2023] EWHC 331 (Ch) that are of interest to litigators. However here we look at the judge’s criticisms of the witness statements…
This is the second in the series that examines the new rules as to QOCS coming into force on the 6th April 2023. Here we look at the impact of the new rules and the date of implementation. …
In Bank of Scotland Plc v Hoskins [2023] EWHC 306 (Ch) HHJ Paul Matthews (sitting as a High Court Judge) refused an application for relief from sanctions following late service of witness evidence. The Defendant’s attempt to invoke Human Rights…
On the 22nd February 2023 I am presenting a webinar on Fatal Accidents “Ensuring Everything Goes Right”. This looks at the problem areas that can arise in fatal claims and how to avoid them. Booking details are available here. THE…
In Keane v Sargen & Ors [2023] EWCA Civ 141 the Court of Appeal commented that interruptions of the cross examination of a witness by the trial judge had not been helpful and, indeed, inappropriate. “I add a few words…
Another example of costs not following the event can be seen in the judgment of Mrs Justice Smith in The Financial Conduct Authority v Papadimitrakopoulos & Anor [2022] EWHC 3048 (Ch). The judgment also raises other issues in relation to…
There is an interesting decision as to costs in the judgment of Mr Justice Miles in The Football Association Premier League Ltd v Pattie & Ors [2023] EWHC 296 (Ch) in relation to the assessment of costs when a case…
There have been some interesting decisions recently on issue based costs orders and costs not always following the event. In Tradition Financial Services Ltd v Bilta (UK) Ltd & Ors [2023] EWCA Civ 112 the Court of Appeal upheld a…
In Halton Borough Council v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing And Communities [2023] EWHC 293 (Admin) HHJ Stephen Davies (sitting as a High Court Judge) refused a claimant’s application for relief from sanctions. This was a case where…
An interesting point was considered by Costs Judge Nangalingam in Brierley v Otuo & Ors [2023] EWHC 275 (SCCO). The defendant paying party argued that a bill of costs should be redrawn. One of the grounds for the application was…
In Lendlease Construction (Europe) Ltd v AECOM Ltd & Anor [2022] EWHC 2855 (TCC) Mrs Justice Joanna Smith held that a claimant that was discontinuing against one of the defendants in an action should pay the costs. There was no…
CLAIMANT SOUGHT TO AMEND NAME OF THE DEFENDANT: CLAIM STRUCK OUT: ANOTHER PERIL OF TRAVEL LITIGATION
I am grateful to barrister Katherine Howells for sending me a copy of the decision of Deputy District Judge Causton in Gregory -v- TUI Airways Ltd, a copy of that decision is available here Approved Judgment Gregory v TUI. …
I am grateful to barrister Jo Moore for drawing my attention to the judgment of Master Sullivan in Somoye v North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust [2023] EWHC 191 (KB). This is a case where the Master refused the defendant’s…
I had always planned to write a tribute following the untimely death of solicitor Jonathan Bamforth. However, as you can see below, his colleagues have written far better than I could ever have done. I will write a few personal…
On the 15th February 2023 I am presenting a webinar on preparing a schedule in a fatal accident claim. The webinar looks at the essential elements of a claim for damages in fatal accident litigation, considering all the information necessary…
Regular readers may be concerned that we have got through to the second week of February of the year and we have not yet had a claims form case. (There are several in the pipeline.) I am grateful to barrister…
In 889 Trading Ltd v Clydesdale Bank Plc & Ors [2023] EWHC 215 (Ch) HHJ Hodge KC, sitting as a judge of the High Court, refused the claimant’s application for relief. That refusal was in very categorical terms. The claimant…
The Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2023 make major changes to the rules relating to the set off of costs and QOCS, reversing the decision of the Supreme Court in Ho -v- Adelkun. Here I want to look at the rule…
In Davidson & Ors v Looney (Re Kieran Looney & Co Ltd) [2023] EWHC 197 (Ch) Deputy ICC Judge Kyriakides granted a respondent relief from sanctions when a witness statement was served six months late. THE CASE The applicant liquidators…
I am grateful to barrister William Rankin for sending me a copy of the judgment of Recorder Knifton KC in Hamblett -v- Liverpool Wholesale Flowers Limited (Liverpool County Court, 23rd January 2023) a copy of which can be found here …
Following detailed discussions by the judging panel the winner of the Wig and Pens Prize for the best costs advice has been decided. THE CRITERIA “What single piece of Advice on costs would you give to a young lawyer? …
There are several significant aspects to the judgment of Mr Justice Eyre in Morgan Sindall Construction and Infrastructure Ltd v Capita Property and Infrastructure (Structures) Ltd & Anor [2023] EWHC 166 (TCC). Firstly the distinction between proceedings issued for the…
On the 8th February 2023 I am presenting a webinar “Understanding the Law Relating to Fatal Accidents”. Booking details are available here. THE WEBINAR This webinar takes you through the essential elements you have to consider before you can advise…
In Costa v Dissociadid Ltd & Anor [2023] EWHC 49 (IPEC) the claimant was unsuccessful in an application for wasted costs against his own lawyers. However the judgment tells us more than that. It is an object lesson in the…
What single piece of Advice on costs would you give to a young lawyer to stand them in good stead throughout their career? This was the question asked in the contest started last month. The contest has a prize generously…
In PME v The Scout Association [2023] EWHC 158 (SCCO) Costs Judge Leonard rejected the defendant’s argument that a non-party costs order should be made against the claimant’s solicitors in relation to the defendant’s costs of assessment and subsequent applications…
In Lemos & Ors v Church Bay Trust Company Ltd & Ors [2023] EWHC 157 (Ch) Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Jones made it clear that he did not accept the reasonableness of the costs budgets of both parties. The…
In Interdigital Technology Corporation & Ors v Lenovo Group Ltd & Ors [2023] EWCA Civ 57 the Court of Appeal considered another case where the results a draft embargoed judgment was disclosed (although not the judgment itself). Liability for the…
In Isaac v Tan & Anor (Re Costs) [2022] EWHC 3478 (Ch) Mr Justice Adam Johnson considered issues of costs following an unsuccessful unfair prejudice application relating to the shares of Cardiff City Football Club. He held that the application…
This is a repeat of a series first published in 2107. It is designed to help lawyers, and litigators in particular, in the initial stages of practice. We will be looking at guidance from around the world. Many of…
One of the aims of this series is to look at those issues of costs that are, on the face of it, incidental to the main issue decided by the court. However, in practical terms, the costs issue is of…
We have seen many cases relating to issues arising following the sending out of draft judgments. Another example can be viewed in the Court of Appeal judgment today in C & Ors, Re (Care Proceedings: Fact-Finding) [2023] EWCA Civ 38…
In Wilkins v Serco Ltd [2023] EWHC 61 (KB) Mrs Justice Heather Williams rejected the defendant’s appeal in relation to allocation of a case for false imprisonment. She upheld a finding that the case would have been allocated to the…
In Lewin v Gray [2023] EWHC 112 (KB) HHJ Robinson (sitting as a Judge of the High Court) decided the issue of liability against the claimant. The case involved questions relating to the duty of care and the impact of…
There are a large number of helpful links on Kings Chambers’ Resource page. Here I link specifically to those relating to costs. Firstly the newsletters and articles and secondly the regular series of webinars. NEWSLETTERS Costs Litigation Newsletter:…
Are the costs of a medical agency recoverable under the fixed costs regime? I am grateful to barrister John Meehan for sending me a copy of the judgment of District Judge Phillips in Wilkinson-Mulvaney -v- UK Insurance Ltd (19th January…
On the 1st February 2023 solicitor Hilary Wetherell is presenting the first in a series of webinars on fatal accidents. This webinar deals with the essential elements of the first meeting with the client and preparing for the inquest. Booking…
I am grateful to Express Solicitors for sending me a report of a decision in Oxford County Court relating to the Damages Claim Portal. The claimant had used the Portal to issue against the Crown. The Portal cannot be used…
This “repeat” looks at the second in the series “What they don’t teach you at School”, it based on one article by Susan Carter Liebel 9 Things I wish they’d taught me at Law School. “9 THINGS I (REALLY,…
Following the judgment on Friday in Hassam & Anor v Rabot & Anor [2023] EWCA Civ 19 there is now a clear cut approach to assessing damages where a claimant’s injuries include damages for matters not within the whiplash tariff. Here…
The judgment of Mr Justice Murray in AB v Secretary of State for Justice [2023] EWHC 72 (KB) is part of an extraordinary saga in relation to a costs assessment. Costs had been reduced by 95% on assessment and reduced…
In the judgment today in Hassam & Anor v Rabot & Anor [2023] EWCA Civ 19 the Court of Appeal (by a majority view) decided that the Civil Liability Act 2018 did not impact on the assessment of damages for…
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