A NUMBER OF CHALLENGES TO THE ENFORCEABILITY OF A DAMAGES BASED AGREEMENT: MASTER MAKES ORDER FOR A SPLIT TRIAL
In Lexlaw Ltd -v- Zuberi [2017] EWHC 1350 (Ch) Master Clark considered challenges to the validity of a damages based agreement between solicitor and client. It was decided that the question of the enforceability of the agreement should be tried…
DEFERMENT OF PAYMENT OF COSTS NOT PERMITTED: RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS REFUSED: 7 DAYS LATE WAS “SERIOUS AND SIGNIFICANT”
In The Queen on the application of Bhandal -v- HM Revenue and Customs [2016] EWHC 3387 (Admin) Mr Justice Holroyde dismissed an application deferment of an order to pay costs and an application for relief from sanctions in making the…
WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER: THE UNDERWOOD TRILOGY
There are three volumes in Kerry Underwood’s guide to “Kerry on Personal Injury Small Claims Portals and Fixed costs”. Each has Kerry’s photo on the front. Should that put you off? As ever I have a “quick” review and a…
AGREEING EXTENSIONS OF TIME: REFUSAL TO AGREE CONTRARY TO THE OVERRIDING OBJECTIVE HAS CONSEQUENCES IN COSTS
When should a party agree an extension of time? In Emmanuel -v- The Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs [2017] EWHC 1253 (Ch) Her Honour Judge Karen Walden Smith made some telling observations . “… in my judgment the…
TALES FROM THE APIL CONFERENCE V: COURT FEE REMISSION: USEFUL LINKS
I attended the session on court fees. One part of this related to the increasing importance of court fee remissions. Claimants have to know the rules and, before they pay any fee, be certain that their client is eligible. Sometimes…
COSTS AT THE END OF THE CASE – WHO IS THE REAL WINNER? (AND MORE ABOUT FAILING TO PROVE DAMAGES)
It is uncertain how much a three week jury trial in the High Court will cost. It is certain that it costs a great deal more than the awards of £5,400 and £5,700 Mrs Justice McGowan awarded to the claimants…
CHANGING FROM LEGAL AID TO CFA: THE COURT OF APPEAL DECISION
This blog has followed the cases that arose out of decisions to switch from public funding to legal aid. In Hyde -v- Milton Keynes NHS Foundation Trust [2017] EWCA Civ 399 the Court of Appeal has given a judgment that…
EXTRAORDINARY AMOUNT OF COSTS CAUSES JUDGE GREAT CONCERN: RBS COSTS ESTIMATES GREATLY EXCEEDED – NOW £129 MILLION
The RBS Rights Issue Litigation is clearly a major and unusual case. However costs have to be reasonable and proportionate even (and perhaps especially) in this type of litigation. This is made clear in the judgment of Mr Justice Hildyard…
COSTS, BUDGETS AND “STRATEGY”: THE CASES TO READ
Is it appropriate to talk about “strategy” in relation to costs budgeting? It probably says a lot that I am at the APIL annual conference and this is one of the things being talked about in the reception at the…
NO OBLIGATION TO RETURN STAGE ONE PROTOCOL COSTS: COURT OF APPEAL DECISION TODAY
In JC and A Solicitors Limited -v- Iqbal [2017] EWCA Civ 355 the Court of Appeal held that there is no obligation to repay costs paid at stage 1 on the Protocol when claimants failed to pursue the matter further….
BOUNDARIES, BORDERS AND COSTS: IF YOU LEAVE THE ISSUE OF COSTS TO THE JUDGE YOU MAY NOT GET THE ANSWER YOU WANT
The judgment of the Court of Appeal in Powles -v- Reeves [2016] EWCA Civ 1375 shows the dangers of not being able to agree the principle of who should pay the costs of litigation. It shows the dangers of just…
MACHISMO OR MADNESS? THE DANGERS OF MAKING A “TIME LIMITED” OFFER OR WITHDRAWING A PART 36 OFFER
There may be tactical advantages to making a “time limited” offer, or withdrawing a Part 36 offer after 21 days. However this can backfire badly. We have already looked at the decision in Thakkar -v- Singh [2017] EWCA 117 in…
MERRIX NOT BEING APPEALED (BUT HARRISON IS – WATCH THIS SPACE)
The decision in Merrix -v- Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust [2017] EWHC 346 (QB) is not being appealed by the defendant. The rationale is, apparently, that the defendant did not want to risk losing the listing of the appeal in Harrison…
MEDIATION AND LITIGATION: ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THE DANGERS OF IGNORING OFFERS TO MEDIATE
This blog reports regularly on cases where the courts have highlighted the advantages of mediation and the dangers of rejecting an offer to mediate. The latest note of cautious comes from the judgment of Lord Justice Jackson in Thakkar -v-…
FILING FORM H: WHEN DOES A CASE HAVE A VALUE OF “LESS THAN £50,000”? A POINT TO WATCH
There are now several formats for Form H. The “short” one page version is now used in cases where the value is between £25,000 and “less than £50,000″. Some judges are interpreting this strictly to read between £25,000 and £49,999”….
INTERIM PAYMENTS ON ACCOUNT OF COSTS: READ (AND CITE) THE CORRECT CHAPTER OF COOK ON COSTS
I am grateful to John McQuater for sending me a copy of an order from HH Judge Robinson, It relates to an application on account of costs. The appeal was (for obvious reasons) compromised. However the robust terms of the…
NO ISSUE BASED COSTS ORDER WHEN UNSUCCESSFUL CLAIMANT HAD TURNED DOWN A PART 36 OFFER OF £500,000
In Lyons -v- Fox Williams LLP [2017] EWHC 532 (QB) Mr Justice Turner considered issues relating to costs after a claimant had been unsuccessful in a claim for professional negligence. THE CASE The claimant had been unsuccessful in a claim…
“AGREED” COSTS BUDGETS NOT APPROVED BY THE COURT : THAT QC IS JUST TOO EXPENSIVE – THINK AGAIN
In Brown -v- BCA Trading Limited [2016] EWHC 1464 (Ch) Mr Registrar Jones refused to approve “agreed” budgets. He held that the fees of leading counsel were too high and needed to be reconsidered. This shows that an agreement between…
COSTS AFTER NOMINAL DAMAGES AND PART 36 OFFERS: THE CLAIMANTS WHO TURNED DOWN £1.5 MILLION AND GOT £2.00 INSTEAD
We looked at the decision of Mr Justice Leggatt in Marathon Asset Management LLP -v- Seddon [2017] EWHC 300 (Comm) in an earlier post. The judge held that the defendants were in breach but that the claimants had suffered no loss….
COSTS NORMALLY FOLLOW THE EVENT: SUCCESSFUL DEFENDANT ENTITLED TO 100% OF ITS COSTS
We looked at the decision in Oldcorn -v- Southern Water Services Ltd [2017] EWHC in an earlier post. A second judgment on the case on the issue of costs is reported at [2017] EWHC 460 (TCC). . The successful defendant was…