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…
A Background In accordance with CPR 3.18 and the ruling of Master Gordon-Saker in the landmark case of BP v Cardiff & Vale University Local Health Board, a compliant Bill of Costs must now identify to which ‘phase’ of the cost management process work belongs. There have been numerous methods employed to shoehorn this extra information…
Sharp v Leeds City Council [2017] EWCA Civ33 Confirming that the Costs of a Pre-Action Disclosure are limited by the fixed costs regime. Summary Sharp v Leeds City Council [2017] EWCA Civ33 addresses the cost consequences of a PAD Application when the substantive matter is subject to the fixed costs regime as set out in…
With Conflicting Authorities on how Proportionality is Assessed, how Should it be Dealt With? When the judgment in BNM v MGM was released, it established that contrary to the old proportionality rules, additional liabilities were to be taken into account when considering the proportionality of costs incurred. Inevitably the case has been heavily relied on by paying…
The nature of how law firms charge clients and make money is in flux. Many changes have already taken place and more are in the pipeline beyond 2016. Keeping one step ahead of the rules and the Judiciary is a sure-fire way of ensuring you are not caught out and remain profitable through challenging times.…
PLEASE SEE UPDATE OF THIS CASE HERE In a Post-Jackson World Only One Thing is Close to Certain: the Height of the Ceiling Background Of the various desired outcomes of the Jackson reforms, ‘certainty of costs’ was amongst the forerunners. Of the numerous bodies who were consulted as part of the investigations there was universal agreement…
Efficiency in the Fixed Costs Regime A reluctance to progress cases is an allegation historically levelled against Claimants and Defendants in almost equal measure. However with fixed recoverable costs looming threateningly over the Claimant profession, this is likely to become an increasingly one sided concern. Under hourly rate costs (in theory at least) there would…
Given the current uncertainty of proportionality a recent case we set down for Provisional Assessment has indicated the tables may now be turning in the Claimant’s favour. The case was a relatively small clinical negligence claim where the Defendant delayed in providing proper treatment to the Claimant after they failed to diagnose a ligament injury…
For cases commenced on or after 1 April 2013, there is a ‘new test’ of proportionality (albeit not too new anymore!), which provides that costs incurred by a party are proportionate if they bear a reasonable relationship to: the sums in issue in the proceedings; the value of any non-monetary relief in issue in the…