AN INTRODUCTION TO LAW AND PRACTICE IN THE CORONER’S COURT: WEBINAR 17th JULY 2025
Representing people at a Coroner’s hearing gives rise to major challenges and responsibilities. Ensuring that the concerns of the participants are fully considered whilst recognising the limited role that the coroner has. This webinar is an introduction to the role…
“HALLUCINATED CASES” LEAD TO PARTY SUCCEEDING AT FIRST INSTANCE: THE COURT OF APPEALS OVERTURNS THE DECISION – BUT RESPONDENT RELIED ON ANOTHER HALLUCINATED CASE IN AN ATTEMPT TO OBTAIN COSTS…
Here we look at another case where a party to litigation relied on “hallucinated” cases – created by Artificial Intelligence. The impact of those cases here were potentially more profound in that a party’s case – based on those false…
COST BITES 257: SOLICITOR AND OWN CLIENT ASSESSMENTS AND “UNUSUAL COSTS”: WHY THE ATTENDANCE NOTE IS OFTEN THE SOLICITOR’S BEST FRIEND
A solicitor is under a specific duty to warn the client when “unusual costs “are being incurred, particularly those costs that may be irrecoverable on an inter party basis. Here we have an example of a (former) client asserting that…
COST BITES 255: SOME IMPORTANT LESSONS HERE: LEGAL OMBUDSMAN HOLDS THAT A FIRM ACTING ON A DBA CANNOT BE PAID TWICE FOR THE SAME WORK: FULL REFUND ORDERED (WITH INTEREST)
The courts have, on occasion, indicated that the legal ombudsman may be a more cost effective way of resolving solicitor and own client costs disputes than expensive litigation. We are looking at such a case here, an ombudsman decision in…
COST BITES 254: DOES YOUR CLIENT HAVE CAPACITY? AN IMPORTANT POINT WHEN CONSIDERING THE VALIDITY OF THE RETAINER: AN ISSUE CONSIDERED IN THE SCCO TODAY
It is rare for issues of capacity to considered on an assessment of costs. However that is precisely the issue considered in this case. If the defendant established he did not have capacity when he entered into a retainer with…
COST BITES 253: COURT OF APPEAL ALLOW APPEAL IN HOLCROFT -V- THORNEYCROFT SOLICITORS – BY CONSENT: AN “AGREEMENT” AS TO THE DEDUCTION OF COSTS DOES NOT PREVENT A SOLICITORS ACT ASSESSMENT
The case of Holcroft -v- Thorneycroft has been discussed on this site in the past. The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal, by consent, setting aside the original orders and directing that the defendants pay the costs of the …
SHOULD THE DEFENDANT PAY COSTS IMMEDIATELY AFTER A SPLIT TRIAL? THE “MEAN FIDDLER” CONSIDERED IN DETAIL
For the second time within a few weeks we are looking at a case where the judge had to consider whether to make a costs order following a claimant being successful after a split trial. Here the judge took a…
PART 36, REFUSAL TO MEDIATE AND SHOULD A PARTY BE SUBJECT TO THE PART 36 PENALTIES WHEN AN OFFER WAS MADE TO THREE DEFENDANTS?
What should the court do in a case where a Part 36 offer is made in relation to a number of defendants but the claimant only succeeds against one of them? Can a failure to accept an offer of mediation…
CLAIMANT GRANTED RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS (ON APPEAL) FOLLOWING LATE SERVICE OF A COSTS BUDGET (TWO YEARS AND FIVE MONTHS LATE…): BUT AT A COST…
Cases relating to late service of the costs budget are still filtering through. Rarely, however, does the failure extend over 2 years and 4 months as it does here. Despite the delay the claimant’s successfully appealed against the initial refusal…
COST BITES 251: POINTS OF DISPUTE MUST BE PROPERLY PARTICULARISED OR THEY WILL BE STRUCK OUT: HIGH COURT DECISION TODAY CONSIDERED
There have been a number of cases now where the courts have considered the obligations on a party filing Points of Dispute to a bill of costs. In particular the need to be particular. Those obligations are considered in detail…
COST BITES 250: SHOULD THE CLAIMANT’S SOLICITOR BE ENTITLED TO RECOVER A FULL SUCCESS FEE AND THE ATE PREMIUM? A DECISION MADE ON APPEAL
We are looking at a decision made on appeal in relation to the very common issue of the percentage of a success fee and the taking out, and subsequent deduction from damages, of an After the Event Insurance policy. The…
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…
IF YOU DISCONTINUE AN ACTION THEN YOU’RE (NORMALLY) BE GOING TO PAYING THE COSTS: THE HIGH BURDEN IMPOSED IN AN APPEAL AGAINST A DECISION AS TO COSTS
Anyone attempting to appeal against an order for costs faces an uphill battle. This may be doubly so if the costs order is made presumptively because they have discontinued an action. Here we consider a case where the difficulties of…
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…
INDEMNITY COSTS ORDERED AGAINST SOME (BUT NOT ALL) CLAIMANTS: A NUANCED HIGH COURT DECISION
We are returning to the same case as the previous post but looking at a different issue. The judge considered whether to make an order for indemnity costs against the claimants. The case is unusual in that such an award…
WHEN QOCS DOES NOT APPLY TO THE WHOLE OF A CLAIM: WHAT PERECENTAGE SHOULD THE CLAIMANTS PAY: THE MATTER CONSIDERED IN THE HIGH COURT
For the second time today we are looking at the rules relating to Qualified one way costs shifting (QOCS) and its exceptions. Here the defendant had spent £2 million successfully defending a claim, only part of that action was a…
THE COURT OF APPEAL DECISION ON THE LIABILITY OF CREDIT HIRE COMPANIES TO PAY COSTS: THE SPECIFIC CASES EXAMINED
This is the second post about the Court of Appeal judgment today in relation to the liability of credit hire companies to pay costs. Here we look at the decisions made in relation to each of the two cases under…
WILL A COSTS ORDER NORMALLY BE MADE AGAINST A CREDIT HIRE COMPANY? COURT OF APPEAL DECISION THIS MORNING
This is the first of several points that will look in detail at the Court of Appeal decision today in relation to the liability of credit hire companies to pay costs. This first post outlines the main findings. Later posts…
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 243: EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL DID NOT ERR WHEN IT ORDERED THE APPLICANT TO PAY (UP TO) £210,000 IN COSTS
It is important for all litigators and litigants to know that some regimes, although normally costs free, do have a discretion to award costs. The Employment Tribunal is an example of this. In this case the Employment Appeal Tribunal upheld…
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…
CLAIMANT FAILS TO BEAT DEFENDANT’S PART 36 OFFER “BY A WHISKER”: IS IT UNJUST FOR THE USUAL PART 36 CONSEQUENCES TO APPLY?
Here we are considering a High Court decision about the consequences of a Part 36 offer. The claimant failed to beat the offer “by a whisker” because of the way in which interest was calculated. The judge considered the claimant’s…
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 241: LEGAL OMBUDSMAN’S DECISION IN RELATION TO FAILURE TO INFORM THE CLIENT ABOUT COSTS WAS NOT IRRATIONAL: SOLICITOR PAYS £35,000
NB THE JUDGE’S DECISION TO OVERTURN THE OMBUDSMAN’S DECISION IN PART WAS IN TURN OVERTURNED BY THE COURT OF APPEAL IN Aina Khan Law Limited, R (on the application of) v Legal Ombudsman [2026] EWCA Civ 773, DETAILS OF THAT…
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? …
DEFENDANT REFUSED RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS AND WAS NOT ABLE TO ARGUE ABOUT COSTS (BUT WAS ALLOWED TO ARGUE ABOUT THE WASTED COSTS)
Here we are looking at another aspect of the case we looked at yesterday. Most of the attention in that case relates to the fake cases that the claimant relied upon. However there was criticism of the defendant too. The…
COST BITES 237: “THROUGHOUT HISTORY, LAWYERS HAVE HAD A BAD REPUTATION”: COMMONSENSE AND PROPORTIONALITY CONSIDERED IN THE FAMILY COURTS
Why spend £13,000 to recover a remedy that will only be worth £1,500? That is the issue considered by Deputy District Judge Hodgson [Professor David Hodson OBE KC (Hons)]. An application was made late. The gain to the applicant was…
THE ROLE OF LEADING COUNSEL IN RELATION TO EXPERT REPORTS AND WITNESS STATEMENTS: A CLIENT CAN PAY FOR WHAT THEY WANT, BUT THESE COSTS WILL NOT BE RECOVERABLE INTER PARTES
How far should leading counsel, or counsel generally, be involved in the preparation of expert reports and witness statements? One obvious reply is “not at all”, given that the evidence should come from the expert or witness. These issues were…
COST BITES 236 : COSTS BUDGETING CAN BE RETROSPECTIVE : BUDGET CONSIDERED FROM THE DATE OF THE CCMC NOT 11 MONTHS LATER
Can the court ever set a costs budget retrospectively? In this case the judge held that it could, further there were good reasons for doing so in this case. “I do not accept that the Court is unable to…
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 228 : DEFENDANT SOLICITOR TO PAY THE COSTS OF THE CLAIMANT ISSUING PROCEEDINGS SEEKING A STATUTE BILL
In Franklin v Your Lawyers Ltd [2025] EWHC 984 (SCCO) Acting Senior Costs Judge Rowley dismissed a defendant solicitor’s argument that it should recover its costs after its former client had issued proceedings seeking the delivery of a statute bill. …
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…
“THE DOG ATE MY HOMEWORK”: COURT REFUSES DEFENDANTS’ APPLICATION FOR RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS WHEN COSTS BUDGET WAS SERVED LATE: NOT DUE TO LATENESS BUT BECAUSE OF THE INADEQUATE BUDGET AND EXPLANATIONS GIVEN
In Stephen Herbert Hunt v Oceania Capital Reserves Limited & Ors [2025] EWHC 837 (Ch) Master Brightwell refused the second and third defendants application for relief from sanctions in a case where the costs budget was served late. However it…
VARDY -v- ROONEY: CLAIMANT’S ARGUMENT THAT DEFENDANT HAD BEEN GUILTY OF MISCONDUCT IN COSTS ASSESSMENT FAILS TO CROSS THE LINE
In Rebekah Vardy v Coleen Rooney [2025] EWHC 851 (KB) Mr Justice Cavanagh rejected the claimant’s arguments that the defendant’s solicitors had misconducted themselves improperly and that there should consequently be a disallowance of some of the costs claimed by the…
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…
PART 36 OFFER WAS VALID DESPITE THE FAILURE TO SPECIFY THE “RELEVANT PERIOD”: THE HISTORY OF OFFERS IS IMPORTANT
Important issues relating to the construction of Part 36 were considered in detail by Mr Justice Calver in Henderson & Jones Ltd v Salica Investments Ltd & Ors [2025] EWHC 838 (Comm). The claimant’s failure to specify the “relevant period”…
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…
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