YOU ARE NOT GOING TO GET PAID FOR RECTIFYING YOUR OWN DEFECTIVE WITNESS STATEMENTS: WHY NON-COMPLIANCE WITH PD57AC CAN BE EXPENSIVE
Here we have a case where a claimant was seeking to recover the costs of preparing defective witness statements. The court had ordered that compliant witness statements be filed. Should the claimant be entitled to recover the costs of preparing…
COST BITES 249 : SHOULD A COSTS ORDER BE STAYED? SHOULD THE DEFENDANT BE ORDERED TO PAY COSTS? LOOKING AT A SUMMARY ASSESSMENT IN ACTION: ARE THE COSTS DISPROPORTIONAL
Continuing with the aim of looking at what is going on “on the ground” in relation we look at a short but interesting judgment that encompasses many aspects of costs. Should the court order a stay pending a possible appeal?…
COST BITES 247: SHOULD A SOLICITOR RESPOND TO PART 18 QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PAYMENT OF COMMISSION? THE HIGH COURT CONSIDERS THE POINT TODAY
Here we are looking at another round in the solicitor-own client assessment war of attrition. The question was whether a solicitor, in a solicitor and own client assessment, should reply to Part 18 requests for further information about premiums paid…
THE CURRENT IMPORTANCE OF PLEADINGS 20: CLAIMANT’S COSTS REDUCED BY 50% BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF THE PLEADED CASE (OR… HOW TO LOSE £3.3 MILLION IN COSTS…)
Today we are looking at a case where a successful claimant’s cost were halved because of its “vague and expansive” pleadings, coupled with a failure to “specify with clarity and precision” what its case was. (Half a sixpence…
ANOTHER ROUND IN THE MEDICAL AGENCY/FEE BREAKDOWN CONFLICT: THERE ARE LOTS OF CASES TO CHOOSE FROM…
I am grateful to Express Solicitors for sending me a transcript of a judgment that marks another round in the fee note/medical agency/provide a breakdown conflict. Here we have the judge considering whether a breakdown, incorporating the percentage taken by…
COSTS AND OTHER CONSEQUENCES CONSIDERED WHEN A CLAIMANT BEATS THEIR OWN PART 36 OFFER: CIRCUIT COMMERCIAL COURT DECISION: HOW IS THE ADDITIONAL LIABILITY CALCULATED WHEN THE JUDGMENT IS NOT IN STERLING?
We are looking at a case where the claimant beat its own Part 36 offer and the court had to consider the consequences. There were some unusual aspects in that the judgment was not given in sterling. However the judge…
COST BITES 244: WHEN ARE INDEMNITY COSTS APPROPRIATE? SHOULD THE FEES OF JUNIOR COUNSEL BE RECOVERED IN FULL? A SUMMARY ASSESSMENT IN THE COMMERCIAL COURT CONSIDERED
I periodically remind people (and remind myself) that one of the purposes of this series is to look at what is happening “on the ground” in relation to costs, including the summary assessment of costs. Practitioners may only have limited…
HOW FAR IS A SOLICITOR’S ESTIMATE OF COSTS BINDING? THE RELEVANT PRINCIPLES CONSIDERED AND APPLIED: A HIGH COURT APPEAL
Many, if not all, litigators will be familiar with the scenario whereby an estimate of costs is given and events develop so that the estimate is overtaken. This scenario was considered in the case we are considering today. An estimate…
COST BITES 242: THE WORDING OF THE RETAINER DID NOT ENABLE THE SOLICITOR TO RENDER INTERIM STATUTE BILLS: THE BILLS HAD INSUFFICIENT INFORMATION IN ANY EVENT
I am grateful to my colleague Paul Hughes for sending me a copy of the decision we are looking at today. Another case on the ongoing saga of whether a retainer allows a solicitor to serve interim statute bills. The…
YOU SPENT £1.2 MILLION ON EXPERTS AND IT WAS MAINLY MONEY DOWN THE DRAIN: DEFENDANTS ALLOWED TO RECOVER 20% OF FEES INCURRED
Sometimes you have to go looking for a pun as a headline for a blog post. Often they simply write themselves. In a case involving water companies who spent £1.2 million on experts, this was one of these cases. The…
COST BITES 240: THERE IS NOT A “CATCH 22” POSITION IN RELATION TO THE DRAFTING OF THESE CONDITIONAL FEE AGREEMENTS
We are continuing to work through the results of one case in relation to the recoverability of success fees from a client’s damages. The claimants, seeking to challenge their former solicitors deduction of costs from their damages, argued that the…
COST BITES 239: HOW MUCH NEEDS TO BE EXPLAINED TO A CLIENT ENTERING INTO A CFA?
We will, for the next few posts in this series, be working our way through one case. We have already looked at the judge’s observations in relation to the claimants’ witness statements. We now consider the issue of how much…
COST BITES 238: WHEN A CLIENT DISPUTES THE SOLICITOR’S COSTS: THE JUDGE’S VIEW ON MEMORY, WITNESSES AND STATEMENTS DRAFTED “WITH THE GUIDING HAND OF THE CLAIMANTS’ SOLICITOR”
Today we are looking at part of a judgment about costs. Ten claimants had been selected (out of 223) to give evidence challenging a solicitor’s deduction of success fees. In fact only four of the claimants attended court to give…
THIRD PARTY HAD FUNDED THE LITIGATION AND WAS LIABLE TO PAY THE DEFENDANT’S COSTS : A “CHILDISH AND INEFFECTUAL ATTEMPT” TO DECEIVE THE COURT DID NOT PASS MUSTER
It is a well known principle that a third party funder can be liable to pay the costs of an action. However what happens when the funding agreement is dressed up as something else – a car sale for instance? …
COST BITES 235: HOW IMPORTANT ARE ESTIMATES WHEN DETERMINING SOLICITOR AND OWN CLIENT COSTS?
Most clients will want to know how much legal work is going to cost them. Most lawyers provide an estimate. The question in this case is how significant is that original estimate in a subsequent solicitor and own client assessment? …
COST BITES 234: A REMINDER THAT A SOLICITORS ACT ASSESSMENT CAN SOMETIMES BE AN EXPENSIVE PROCESS FOR A CLAIMANT
A central aim of this series is to look at what actually happens when costs are assessed. We see an example in the case we are looking at here. It was the claimant’s application for a Solicitors Act assessment of bills…
COST BITES 233: VARDY -v- ROONEY: SOME EXTRA TIME ON THE COSTS ISSUES: CLAIMANT’S CONDUCT DID NOT CROSS THE LINE -NO REDUCTION OF COSTS OF APPEAL
In Rebekah Vardy v Coleen Rooney [2025] EWHC 1027 (KB) Mr Justice Cavanagh made some further costs rulings following the dismissal of the defendant’s appeal on issues relating to costs. Firstly he rejected the defendant’s arguments that the claimant’s costs should be…
COST BITES 232: COSTS JUDGE REJECTS ARGUMENT THAT THERE SHOULD BE A “SHORT CUT” TO APPROVAL OF SOLICITOR AND OWN CLIENT COSTS FROM A PROTECTED PARTY’S DAMAGES
A solicitor who wishes to deduct “solicitor and own client” costs in a case involving a minor or protected party requires approval by the Court. Here we have a case where the claimant’s solicitors argued, robustly, that the current process…
COST BITES 231: THE CLAIMANT’S REASONABLE VALUATION OF THE CASE MEANT IT DID NOT COME WITHIN THE PRE-ACTION PROTOCOL (HOWEVER THE FACTS OF THE ACCIDENT ITSELF WOULD NOT HAVE TAKEN IT OUTSIDE THE PROTOCOL)
In Julie Johnson v Choice Support [2025] EWHC 1020 (SCCO) Deputy Costs Judge Erwin-Jones decided that the claimant’s initial valuation of a case made it reasonable to start it outside the Pre-Action Valuation Protocol for Low Value Claims. There is also an…
COST BITES 230: CLIENT UNSUCCESSFUL IN APPLICATION FOR ASSESSMENT OF BILLS RENDERED MORE THAN 12 MONTHS PRIOR TO ISSUE: CLAIMANT’S ARGUMENTS GO NOWHERE…
There are numerous cases on this blog where solicitor defendants have encountered major problems, and often come to grief, when faced with applications by clients for solicitor and own client assessments. The judgment of Costs Judge Whalan in Mehta v…
COST BITES 229: THE CORRECT WAY OF CALCULATING A SUCCESS FEE IN A PERSONAL INJURY CASE: THE SOLICITOR DOES NOT HAVE AN AUTOMATIC ENTITLEMENT TO 25% OF THE DAMAGES
The calculation of a “success fee” in a personal injury action is a subject that has been the subject of several cases over the years. The issues were considered by District Judge Lumb in SJ (a minor suing by his mother…
COST BITES 227 : THE JUDGE WAS RIGHT TO ORDER THE CLAIMANT TO PAY 80% OF THE COSTS OF TWO APPLICATIONS: DECISION UPHELD ON APPEAL
I am grateful to James Packer of Duncan Lewis for sending me a copy of the judgment of Mrs Justice Hill in Mlundira -v- The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWHC 189 (KB), a copy of which…
CLAIMANT ENTITLED TO COSTS TO BE ASSESSED AFTER LATE ACCEPTANCE OF A PART 36 OFFER: EVEN THOUGH FIXED COSTS APPLIED AT THE TIME THE OFFER WAS MADE
NB THIS DECISION WAS OVERTURNED BY THE COURT OF APPEAL IN Attersley v UK Insurance Ltd [2026] EWCA Civ 217 I am grateful to barrister Thomas Mason for drawing my attention to the judgment today in Laura Attersley v UK…
PART 36: SUCCESSFUL CLAIMANTS RECOVER ADDITIONAL SUMS: PART 36 CONSEQUENCES ARE THERE TO INCENTIVISE OFFEREES TO ACCEPT REASONABLE OFFERS
In Thomas Barry & Anor v Denis Barry [2025] EWHC 819 (KB) Mr Justice Dexter Dias rejected the defendant’s argument that the claimants should not receive an additional amount in circumstances where they had beaten their own Part 36 offers. The…
COST BITES 226: ARE THE COSTS OF DELEGATION RECOVERABLE? POTENTIALLY – BUT THERE IS A CAVEAT – IT MUST NOT LEAD TO INCREASED COSTS
It is prudent for litigators of every type to take a look at decisions made on the assessment of costs. The fundamental questions “am I going to get paid for doing this?” or “Is my client going to recover the…
COST BITES 225: A PEEK INSIDE THE BUDGETING PROCESS: “PROPORTIONALITY TRUMPS REASONABLENESS”
We get a rare chance to look inside the costs budgeting process in the judgment of Master Brightwell in Atlantic Ways Holding SA v Freetown Terminal Holding Ltd [2025] EWHC 674 (Ch). The rationale behind each budgeting decision is set…
COST BITES 224 : SOLICITORS ACT ASSESSMENT: COSTS JUDGE DISMISSES CLAIMANT’S PART 8 ACTION BECAUSE THERE WERE PART 7 PROCEEDINGS PENDING: (DEFENDANT’S COSTS DESCRIBED AS “INCREDIBLE)”
In Captivatiun Ltd v Orr Litchfield Solicitors Ltd [2025] EWHC 679 (SCCO) Costs Judge Nagalingam dismissed a client’s application for an assessment of costs under Part 8. The application was made out of time and there were ongoing Part 7…
COST BITES 223: HOW MUCH DOES AN UNSUCCESSFUL APPLICATION TO ADDUCE EXPERT EVIDENCE COST? £111,616 (APPROXIMATELY): (OH, AND PLUS YOUR OWN COSTS)
I sometimes have to remind people (and remind myself) that one of the aims of this series is to keep an eye on costs awards that are actually made at hearings at trial. This provides an insight into what is…
COST BITES 222: A “RETROSPECTIVE” CONDITIONAL FEE AGREEMENT WAS STILL VALID AND THE PAYING PARTY HAD TO PAY: COURT OF APPEAL DECISION
In Singh & Ors v Ingram [2025] EWCA Civ 264 the Court of Appeal rejected an argument that a retrospective conditional fee agreement was invalid. The Court was, to say the least, suspicious of argument that the receiving party’s solicitors…
AGENCY FEES AND MEDICAL REPORTS: JUDGE REFUSES TO ALLOW AGENCY PROFIT ELEMENT OF THE FEE: ANOTHER ROUND IN A CONTINUING BATTLE
I am grateful to Howard Dean of Keoghs, solicitors, for sending me a copy of the judgment of District Judge Morris in Smith -v- Portsmouth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, a copy of which is available here. It is a case…
COURT FEES ARE GOING UP SOON: MOJ PRESS RELEASE STATES FEES WILL CHANGE IN EARLY APRIL 2025
A press release from the Ministry of Justice states that Court fees are to increase in early April (but there are some decreases). The release can be found here. “In early April 2025, and subject to parliamentary approval, the…
COST BITES 219: DISBURSEMENTS: WHAT IS A REASONABLE AND PROPORTIONAL INTERPRETER’S FEE? THE COURT MUST “HAVE REGARD TO THE MARKET”
In Santiago v Motor Insurers’ Bureau ( The County Court at Central London, 22nd February 2025,available here Santiago v MIB Final)* HHJ Dight CBE considered the issue of what was a reasonable and proportional interpreter’s fee. The case had been…
COST BITES 218: JUNIOR COUNSEL’S FEES NOT RECOVERABLE IN PRIVY COUNCIL CASE WHERE THE CFA WAS NOT LAWFUL
I am grateful to Andrew Roy KC for sending me a copy of the judgment of Costs Judge Rowley in Ruhumatally v The State of Mauritius & Anor, a copy of the judgment is available here Ruhumatally – reasons. The…
COST BITES 217: CLAIMANTS TO PAY THE DEFENDANTS’ COSTS OF THE BUDGETING HEARING: THE PROPOSED BUDGET WAS “ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE LINE”
We are returning to the judgment of Mr Justice Constable in GS Woodland Court GP 1 Ltd & Anor v RGCM Ltd & Ors [2025] EWHC 285 (TCC), looked in the previous post. Because of the nature of the budget that the…
COST BITES 216: THIS IS A CASE OF HIGH VALUE: HOWEVER THE CLAIMANTS’ COSTS ARE DISPROPORTIONAL AND THE HOURLY RATES ARE EXCESSIVE
This is the first of two posts looking at the costs budgeting judgment of Mr Justice Constable in GS Woodland Court GP 1 Ltd & Anor v RGCM Ltd & Ors [2025] EWHC 285 (TCC). The judge made observations in…
THE IMPORTANCE OF ADEQUATE TIME ESTIMATES: THE COURT COULD APPLY SANCTIONS “POUR ENCOURAGER LES AUTRES”
We are considering the issue of adequate time estimates for the second time this year. We are also revisiting the judgment of Deputy Costs Judge Roy KC in Christodoulides v CP Christou LLP [2025] EWHC 214 (SCCO), however this time on…
COST BITES 215: NON-COMPLIANT POINTS OF DISPUTE STRUCK OUT – BUT THE COMPLIANT PARTS REMAIN.
In Christodoulides v CP Christou LLP [2025] EWHC 214 (SCCO) Deputy Costs Judge Roy KC considered the appropriate approach were part of the Points of Dispute to a bill of costs were non-compliant. He held that the appropriate course of…
COST BITES 214: SHOULD THE COURT MAKE AN ORDER FOR COSTS AGAINST A CLAIMANT WHEN THE COSTS BUDGET HAS BEEN GREATLY REDUCED? THE ISSUES CONSIDERED
In Zavorotnii v Malinowski [2025] EWHC 260 (KB) HHJ Karen Walden-Smith considered the arguments as to whether a major reduction in a party’s costs budget should lead to an order for costs being made, rather than an order for costs…
COSTS BITES 214: LAWYERS DO YOU WANT TO WORK FOR NOTHING? THE DEFENDANTS’ DAMAGE BASED AGREEMENTS WERE NOT VALID AND COSTS WERE NOT RECOVERABLE UNDER A COSTS ORDER: WHY SOLICITORS NEED TO THINK ABOUT THEIR RETAINERS CAREFULLY
If ever there was a case that highlighted the need for solicitors to consider the terms of the retainer with care, and know the law relating to Damages Based Agreements in detail, it is the judgment of Costs Judge Brown…
COST BITES 213: HOW DOES THE COURT APPROACH ASSESSMENT WHEN COSTS ARE DEDUCTED FROM THE CLIENT’S DAMAGES
We are returning, for the final post (for the time being at least) to the judgment of Cost Judge Rowley in Perrett v Wolferstans LLP [2025] EWHC 68 (SCCO). The judge considered the question of how the costs should be…
COST BITES 212: ARGUMENTS ABOUT DEDUCTIONS OF COSTS FROM CLIENT’S DAMAGES: THE CONSUMER RIGHTS ACT 2015 AND THE SRA CODE OF CONDUCT
We are again returning to the judgment of Cost Judge Rowley in Perrett v Wolferstans LLP [2025] EWHC 68 (SCCO). Here we examine the claimant’s (former client’s) arguments in relation to the deduction of costs breaching the Consumer Rights Act 2015…
COST BITES 211: THE ASSESSMENT OF COSTS: LARGE ELEMENTS OF POINTS OF DISPUTE STRUCK OUT BECAUSE OF INADEQUATE PARTICULARISATION
In St Francis Group 1 Ltd & Ors v Kelly & Anor [2025] EWHC 125 (SCCO) Costs Judge Leonard struck out large parts of a defendant’s Points of Dispute. The Points of Dispute were inadequately particularised. The judgment contains an…
COST BITES 210: INTERIM BILLS WERE NOT STATUTE BILLS: THE CLIENT HAS THE RIGHT TO AN ASSESSMENT OF THE FINAL BILL: “SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES” CONSIDERED
I am grateful to barrister Thomas Mason for drawing my attention to the judgment of Senior Costs Judge Gordon-Saker in Topalsson GmbH v CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP [2025] EWHC 118 (SCCO). The judge determined that a series of…
EXTRAORDINARY CONDUCT WHICH LED TO SOLICITOR’S UNLAWFUL DEDUCTION FROM A PROTECT PARTY’S DAMAGES: JUDGMENT FROM THE SCCO
In AKS v National Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Society Ltd [2025] EWHC 126 (SCCO) Costs Judge Leonard recounted an extraordinary set of facts where a solicitor had wrongly deducted sums from their client’s damages. The judgment shows that this issue…
COST BITES 209: A CLIENT’S CHALLENGE TO THE DEDUCTION OF THEIR OWN SOLICITOR’S COSTS WAS THIS A CFA OR A DBA: WAS THE SOLICITOR OBLIGED TO OFFER A DBA?
We are continuing with the examination of the judgment of Cost Judge Rowley Perrett v Wolferstans LLP [2025] EWHC 68 (SCCO). Here the judge considered (and rejected) that claimant’s [former client’s] argument that the CFA entered into with the solicitor was…
COST BITES 208: A CLIENT’S CHALLENGE TO THE DEDUCTION OF THEIR OWN SOLICITOR’S COSTS IN PERSONAL INJURY ACTION
There is a strange area of litigation and legal costs where issues of proportionality and common sense appear to totally disappear. – that is former client’s challenges to solicitor’s deductions from damages. We see another example in Perrett v Wolferstans…
COST BITES 207: THE BREAKDOWN OF EXPERT FEES WHEN AN AGENCY IS INVOLVED (AGAIN): THE RECEIVING PARTY, APPLES AND PEARS AND AN ELECTION HAS TO BE MADE
In JXX v Archibald [2025] EWHC 69 (SCCO) Costs Judge Rowley considered the – much debated and litigated – issue of whether there needs to be breakdown of an expert’s fee when the expert is instructed through an agency. The…
THE COSTS JUDGE OVER YOUR SHOULDER: MAXIMISING COSTS RECOVERY ON AN INTER PARTIES RECOVER – THE LITIGATOR’S ROLE: WEBINAR 23rd JANUARY 2025
Detailed assessment usually takes place after attempts at settlement of costs have failed and there are some major differences between the parties. The webinar uses examples from reported cases to show where failures and omissions by the receiving party has…
MISCONDUCT IN ASSESSMENT AND REDUCTIONS IN COSTS – A REVIEW OF THE CASES II: KERINS -V- HEART OF ENGLAND: COSTS REDUCED BY 50%
We are continuing this series looking at issues of misconduct in the assessment process by looking at the decision of District Judge Griffith in Kerins -v- Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust (Birmingham, 31st July 2015). The claimant’s costs were reduced by…
MISCONDUCT IN ASSESSMENT AND REDUCTIONS IN COSTS – A REVIEW OF THE CASES 1: LAHEY -v- PIRELLI TYRES LIMITED
Recent cases on the issue of costs being reduced, or disallowed, due to the conduct of the assessment proceedings have led me to review the cases on this topic. This is the first in a series of posts about the…
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