COST BUDGET REQUIREMENT DOES NOT APPLY TO PART 8 CASES: A CASE IN POINT
There has been considerable discussion about whether the requirements to lodge a costs budget applies to Part 8 cases. Part 8 cases are automatically allocated to the Multi Track and the requirements to lodge a budget was thought to apply….
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…
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…
HOW TO COMPLAIN ABOUT PROBLEMS WITH THE COURT SERVICE: A MODEL LETTER
Following the blog posts about troubles with the court about issue and secret letters which appear to govern how proceedings can be issued came the following comment from Dominic Cooper of I E Legal. “It surprises me that any of…
HEAD TURNING, NAVIGATION AND MITCHELL PART 2: A CLOSER EXAMINATION OF SUMMIT NAVIGATION
I set out the main part of the judgment of Leggatt J in Summit Navigation Ltd –v- Generali Romani [2014] EWHC (Comm) yesterday. Here I look at the salient parts of the judgment and highlight the very real dilemma that…
SCHEDULE OF COSTS SERVED 18 MINUTES LATE DOES NOT LEAD TO COSTS BEING DISALLOWED
I have already commented on the highly technical points being taken as a result of the Mitchell decision. In Devon County Council -v- Celtic Bioenergy Ltd [2014] EWHC 309 (TCCStuart-Smith J considered the effect of a schedule of costs being…
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…
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…
OFFERS TO SETTLE: COSTS, CONDUCT AND A WHOLE LOT MORE: REHILL –v- RIDER HOLDINGS CONSIDERED
The case of Rehill –v- Rider Holdings [2014] EWCA Civ 42 offers quite a few lessons for litigators and litigants. In relation to offers and filing schedules of costs and the risks of litigation for litigants and lawyers. REHILL –v- RIDER…
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…
THE DANGERS OF NOT USING PRE-ACTION PROTOCOLS & THE PRACTICE DIRECTION TO THE FULL: A WORKING EXAMPLE OF PROBLEMS CAUSED BY PREMATURE ISSUE
The next in the series was going to be a review of the rules and principles relating to pre-action conduct. However Kerry Underwood has written a post that deals with this issue comprehensively and I have nothing to add. Here we look…
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:…
APPLICATION FOR RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS REFUSED WHEN PARTY FAILED TO SERVE STATEMENT OF REASONS: FULL TRANSCRIPT AVAILABLE
There is a decision by Master Rowley in the case of Long -v- Value Properties Ltd 13/1/14 available on dropbox at https://www.dropbox.com/s/h8keoeme94gvrzp/Long%20v%20%20Value%20Properties%20%26%20Anor.pdf THE APPLICATION FOR RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS This was an application for relief from sanctions ar… Enjoying this post? Become…
ON-LINE GUIDANCE ON COSTS BUDGETING AND FILLING OUT FORM H: UPDATED
Form H (Precedent H) is now a central part of the litigation process. It was the delay in lodging the Form H that led to sanctions being imposed in the Mitchell case. Many people are facing completion of the form…
NO INTEREST AWARDED ON PRE-JUDGMENT COSTS FOR SUCCESSFUL DEFENDANT
Should a successful party have an award of interest on costs paid to their solicitors. In the case of Schuman -v- Veale Wasborough [2013] EWHC 4070 (QB) Dingemans J considered an application by successful defendants that they be awarded interest on their…
MORE MITCHELL MAYHEM: USE OF SQUARE BRACKETS LEADS TO COSTS BUDGET BEING DISALLOWED
A report by Tom Gibson in PI Brief Update makes worrying reading. The headline reads ” Would a district judge strike out a costs budget because it contained the phrase “[Statement of truth]”, in square brackets, rather than the full…
RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS AND SERVING NOTICE OF FUNDING: A TALE OF TWO CASES
Results of relief from sanctions applications are now being reported regularly. Here we look at two apparently contrasting applications in relation to relief from sanctions and the failure to give notice of funding. Both cases were reported today; both are…
SURVIVING MITCHELL A PRACTITIONER’S GUIDE : 1 KNOW WHAT HAPPENED IN MITCHELL AND HOW IT COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED
The decision in Mitchell is already having a major impact on day to day litigation. This is the first of a series of posts which looks at the Mitchell decision and deals with the practical steps that practitioner’s must take…
CAN MR MITCHELL STILL GET HIS COSTS? A PROFESSOR'S OPINION
The comments section is at the bottom right hand side of this blog and a comment from Professor Hibbert made earlier this week may have been missed by many. I set it out below. No doubt this will give rise to…
UNDERSTANDING AND REDUCING THE COSTS OF LITIGATION: EDUCATING YOUR CLIENT
The previous post considered the case of Vitol Bahrain where the costs of the successful party on a one day application were reduced from £165,241.80 to £75,000. The amount of this shortfall highlights the need for the modern litigator to…
MITCHELL -v- NEWS GROUP NEWSPAPERS: OUTLINE OF CLAIMANT'S SUBMISSIONS
There appeal in the Mitchell case was heard in the Court of Appeal case earlier today. Judgment was reserved. I have a note of the arguments on behalf of the Claimant/Appellant. The Defendant’s arguments will be posted later. I…
EXTENSIONS OF TIME WHEN THERE IS A MINOR BREACH: FULL TRANSCRIPT IN RAYYAN AL IRAQ CO LTD NOW AVAILABLE
The case of Raayan Al Iraq Co. Ltd –v- Trans Victory Machine Inc [2013] EWHC 2696 (Comm) was mentioned in an earlier post. The full transcript is now available and provides useful reading for those applying for retrospective extensions of…
COSTS CONSEQUENCES OF PART 36 OFFERS: ANOTHER INTERESTING EXAMPLE
Following the earlier post on Part 36 offers I am grateful to Marcus Davies from DWF for pointing me in the direction of the decision of Mrs Justice Andrews in Davison –v- Leitch [2013] EWHC 3092 (QB). This provides another…
THE COSTS CONSEQUENCES OF PART 36 OFFERS: DO THEY ALWAYS APPLY? THE CASES IN DETAIL
The costs consequences when a claimant fails to beat a Part 36 from the defendant are well known and long established. The advantages for a claimant who now beats their own offer were examined in a previous post. Here we…
HOW RELEVANT ARE PART 36 OFFERS TO ISSUE BASED ORDERS? A SALUTARY WARNING ABOUT THE RISKS OF LITIGATION
The making of an “issue based” costs order is now a common aspect of litigation. However how relevant is a Part 36 offer when a court is considering making an “issue based” costs order? A recent case contains discussion of…
THANKS FOR THE £500,000. NOW WHERE’S THE EXTRA £50,000 YOU OWE ME? KNOWING THE RISKS AND ADVANTAGES FOR THE CLAIMANT IN THE NEW PART 36
The new provisions when a claimant beats their own Part 36 provide challenges (including potential negligence claims) for the claimant lawyer. A claimant who beats their own Part 36 offer at trial now obtains considerable benefit. CPR 36.13(3) states that…


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