HELP WITH COURT FEES: NEW FORMS AND NEW ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: WHERE TO FIND THE NEW GUIDANCE AND FORMS
A reminder that the financial eligibility criteria for help with court fees was changed from the 27th November 2023. There are also new court forms designed to make the process (which can be somewhat tortuous) simpler. FROM THE GOVERNMENT PRESS…
CHANGES IN ELIGIBILITY FOR COURT FEE REMISSION: THE COURTS AND TRIBUNALS (FEE REMISSION AND MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS) ORDER 2023
The Courts and Tribunals (Fee Remissions and Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2023 increases the capital and income limits for fee remission from the 27th November 2023. The Order is available here. The explanatory notes are set out below. CAPITAL CHANGES…
CAN A CLAIMANT RECOVER MORE THAN THEY HAVE CLAIMED IN THE CLAIM FORM? YES THEY CAN…
We will be looking several aspects of the judgment of Jason Beer KC (sitting as a High Court Judge) in Celebrity Speakers Ltd v Daniel & Ors [2023] EWHC 2158 (KB). The first issue is a surprisingly common one. Can…
FAILURE TO PAY CORRECT COURT FEE WHEN LODGING PROCEEDINGS AT COURT MEANS ACTION BITES THE DUST: CPR 3.9 AND 3.10 CANNOT HELP
In Peterson & Anor v Howard De Walden Estates Ltd [2023] EWHC 929 (KB) the unfortunate claimant failed to fail the correct fee. The court declined to issue proceedings. Consequently the claim was out of time Mr Justice Eyre held…
FEE REMISSION: USEFUL LINKS AND GUIDANCE
The recent decision in Gibbs -v- King’s College NHS Foundation Trust (11/11/2021) highlights the need to keep issues of fee remission at the forefront of consideration, particularly when issuing proceedings. There is no guarantee at all that a party will recover…
A PARTY WHO DOES NOT OBTAIN DISPENSATION FROM FEES, IF AVAILABLE, SHOULD NOT EXPECT TO RECOVER THE FEES: COST JUDGE DECISION
I am grateful to Yvonne Booth from Keoghs, solicitors, for sending me a copy of the judgment of Costs Judge Rowley in Gibbs -v- King’s College NHS Foundation Trust (11/11/2021) a copy of which is available here Judgment Gibbs v…
THE COURT OF APPEAL AND FAILURE TO PAY THE TRIAL FEE: RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS GRANTED EVEN THOUGH NO FORMAL APPLICATION WAS BEFORE THE COURT
In the judgment in Boodia v Yatsyna [2021] EWCA Civ 1705 the Court of Appeal allowed a decision that a Circuit Judge had made with a heavy heart. The judgment reviews the cases in relation to non-payment, or late payment,…
COURT FEES INCREASE: READ ALL ABOUT IT: COMING TO A COURT NEAR YOU SOON
After a consultation process the Ministry of Justice has produced “Court and Tribunal Fees The Government response to the consultation on ‘Increasing selected court fees and Help with Fees income thresholds by inflation’ IN A NUTSHELL Court fees will be…
RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS GRANTED ON APPEAL WHERE A PARTY FAILED TO PAY THE COURT FEE
In Silber v London Borough of Barnet (HOUSING – CIVIL PENALTY – case struck out by FTT for failure to pay the hearing fee – criteria for relief from sanctions) [2021] UKUT 206 (LC) the Upper Tribunal allowed an appeal…
AN APPLICATION THAT WAS “OPPORTUNISTIC AND WITHOUT MERIT”: NON-PAYMENT OF THE COURT FEE WITHIN EXISTING PROCEEDINGS DOES NOT GIVE RISE TO A LIMITATION DEFENCE: JARNDYCE -v- JARNDYCE CONSIDERED IN THE COURT OF APPEAL
The issue of non-payment, or under-payment, of court fees was considered by the Court of Appeal in the judgment today in Butters & Anor v Hayes [2021] EWCA Civ 252. THE CASE During the course of an action the court…
FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH CIVIL PROCEDURE RULES AND PAY CORRECT COURT FEE CAN (BUT DIDN’T) LEAD TO AN ACTION BEING STRUCK OUT
In Udeshi & Ors v Sieratzki [2021] EWHC 213 (Ch) Master Kaye considered an argument that a failure to pay the correct fee, and other breaches of the CPR, should lead to an action being struck out. Given that the…
THE CORRECT COURT FEE WHEN ADDITIONAL PARTIES ARE JOINED INTO AN ACTION: NOT £55 BUT £10,000 (OH, AND YOU CAN’T RELY ON WHAT THE COURT TOLD YOU…)
There are not many cases where a judge is asked to determine what the appropriate court fee should be. However this is precisely what occurred in the judgment of HHJ Pearce in Walayat & Ors v Berkeley Solicitors Ltd [2021]…
THE ROYAL COURTS OF JUSTICE FEES OFFICE CLOSED: EMAIL ADDRESSES TO CONTACT
A HCMTS notice states that the RCJ Fees Office is closed. It gives appropriate email addresses. The Royal Courts of Justice Fees Office will close to the public until further notice (1 April 2020). Court users are advised to contact…
CLAIMANT WHO FAILS TO OBTAIN COURT FEE REMISSION – CAN RECOVER THE COURT FEE ON APPEAL: CIRCUIT JUDGE DECISION ON APPEAL
I am grateful to Jon Heath from Levins,solicitors, for sending me a copy of the decision of HHJ Lethem in Ivanov -v- Lubble (Central London County Court 17th January 2020). This relates to the issue of whether a claimant, eligible…
GETTING AWAY FROM THE PROTOCOL: MEANING OF “HARM”, “VULNERABLE ADULT” AND THE REASONABLE VALUATION OF A CLAIM AT MORE THAN £25,000
In Scott v Ministry of Justice [2019] EWHC B13 (Costs) Deputy Master Friston considered whether a case fell outside the fixed costs regime of the Employers Liability Protocol as a result of the identity of an assailant. It transpired that…
APPLYING FOR DISPENSATION FROM COURT FEES: TWO DIFFERENT CASES
I am grateful to my colleague Paul Hughes for sending me a copy of the judgment of District Judge Jenkinson in the case of Stone -v- Allianz Insurance PLC where Paul acted for the defendant. This, and the case of…
ONE PLUG: COURT FEES – AVOIDING THE PITFALLS: WEBINAR 25th SEPTEMBER 2019
Just one plug this time. For the webinar on Court Fees on the 25th September. COURT FEES: AVOIDING THE PITFALLS On the 25th September at 1.pm, I am giving a webinar “Court fees: Avoiding the pitfalls – fees, fee remission, abuse…
WEBINARS: (1) LOSS OF EARNINGS (2) COURT FEES – AVOIDING THE PITFALLS: TWO PLUGS
Just a brief reminder of two webinars this month: one on loss of earnings, the other on court fees and associated issues. CLAIMS FOR LOSS OF EARNINGS This webinar “Claims for loss of earnings: law, procedure and evidence, prove it…
SUCCESSFUL APPEAL OF A DECISION NOT TO PROVIDE COURT FEE REMISSION: GUIDANCE ON HOW TO APPEAL REFUSAL TO GRANT REMISSION
I am grateful to solicitor Anthony McCarthy for sending me brief details of a successful appeal against a decision refusing remission of court fees. Anthony states that successful appeals are very rare. ANTHONY’S NOTE ON THE APPEAL Fee was £10k…
COURT FEE REMISSION: USEFUL LINKS AND GUIDANCE
The earlier post reporting that a defendant had been ordered to pay the claimant’s court fees despite the claimant being entitled to remission has led to a lot of discussion on Twitter. Responses range from “that’s right” to “what on…