For many years this has been a bone of contention, with a large portion of Defendants and in particular the NHS, either failing to or refusing to provide the Claimant with a payment on account of costs. For many of our clients it is a priority to procure a payment on account so that disbursements…
Due to continued cuts in Civil Justice and the strict mandatory cost budgets in civil litigation, there is an increased risk of delay, poor decisions, and non-recovery of costs even if a case is won. Arbitration is therefore an increasingly attractive option. A procedure in which parties are able to refer a dispute to a specialist…
OPINION Looking into the fire, we’d rather just stay in the frying pan (thank you very much) When Lord Justice Jackson’s report is released in July there will likely be significant consequences to legal practitioners. The same practitioners are being given warning of this and being presented with clear opportunity to contribute to the discussion…
This has been an interesting decision to come out of the SCCO in the last week where a post-April 2013 Premium has been heavily reduced for reasons of Proportionality. The Facts This was a Clinical Negligence claim concerning a failure to refer for imaging, as it was alleged that had the Defendant done so, a…
“Whole of split bill, less additional liabilities, subject to proportionality test, rules regional judge.” This case related to a Bill of Costs prepared on behalf of the Claimant by MRN. This was a matter that initially proceeded to a Detailed Assessment. The Bill had not been subjected to costs case management/budgeting but had been split…
Merrix v. Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust and its implications on YOUR cases 1.How do we approach quantum in light of the Merrix decision on cases subject to a Costs Management Order? Quantum should be considered in two separate stages for both “incurred costs” and “future costs”. Incurred costs are subject to assessment in…
And you thought cost budgets were important last week… Summary The matter was first heard before District Judge Lumb sitting as a Regional Costs Judge in October 2016, our case summary of the decision on first instance can be found here. In a nutshell, the Judge determined that cost budgeting was not intended to replace detailed…
In the recent case of ENRC v Dechert , the Claimant successfully argued that there were “special circumstances” which justified there being a Detailed Assessment of invoices Under Section 70(3) of the Solicitors Act 1974 which states : Where an application under subsection (2) is made by the party chargeable with the bill— (a)after the…
Considering the cost consequence when a Claimant’s Part 36 offer is accepted out of time It is illuminating to consider the very first rule in the CPR: CPR 1.1 (1) These Rules are a new procedural code with the overriding objective of enabling the court to deal with cases justly and at proportionate cost. I have…
Are there any changes to the existing rules? Currently CPR 3.18 remains the key rule to consider when preparing and serving a Bill of Costs on a claim which has been cost managed and costs budgets have been approved by the Court or agreed between the parties. Bills are currently being split to identify where…