Indemnity Costs

Rebecca Mogford   Criterion Buildings Ltd v McKinsey and Another (Costs) This was a case involving a dispute in respect of what award for costs should be made by the Court. There was an agreement between the parties as to the sum to be paid on account, however, what was not agreed was the basis…

Qualification on DBA Termination

Jack Holland   A Court of Appeal judgment on the termination of Damages Based Agreements (DBA’s) has recently been handed down in the case of Zuberi v Lexlaw Limited seemingly bringing to an end the uncertainty surrounding termination prior to conclusion and the ability for a Solicitor to recover its’ costs. The facts of the…

MRN Top Tips for 2021

  Be careful regarding interest on disbursement funding loans and advice given to Clients regarding recovery of the same. Master Gordon Saker made it clear in Marbrow v Sharpes Garden Services Ltd[2020] EWHC B26 (Costs) (10 July 2020) that interest paid on a disbursement funding loan was not regarded recoverable as an item of cost or,…

Hourly Rates in summary for 2020

Rebecca Mogford   Over the last few months we have had a flurry of activity from various cases and commentary from the judiciary on hourly rates. With what has been a challenging year at times for the legal industry, these developments have been warmly received. As previously mentioned in our articles Master Gordon Saker pushing in…

Does an “avalanche” of additional disclosure represent a significant development pursuant to CPR 3.15A?

Gemma Taylor   BDW Trading Ltd v Lantoom Ltd [2020] Costs LR 1597 In this recent Technology and Construction Court (Queen’s Bench Division) case, Mr Justice Kerr considered whether a substantial increase of disclosure ought to be considered a significant development and whether or not the “knock-on effect” to other phases, such as witness evidence,…

When will the Court exercise their discretion to order a Litigant in Person to file a budget? Rarely if CJ & LK Perk Partnership -v- Royal Bank of Scotland is anything to go by.

Kathryn Regan   It has been drilled into litigators over the past 7 years that all parties are required to file and exchange budgets in Part 7 multi-track cases, save for the excepted cases under CPR 3.12(1). All parties except for Litigants in Person that is. Recently a represented party issued an application against a…