The long awaited judgment of Swift -v- Carpenter [2020] EWCA Civ 1295 has clarified the method for calculating accommodation claims.
Practitioners will be busy considering the effect of the judgment, however, the importance of reviewing approved cost budgets in cases to be impacted should not be overlooked.
Consideration needs to be given whether additional work will be undertaken that was not accounted for at the time the budget was approved. If evidence and Schedules of Loss had already been finalised and there is now a requirement to go back to the drawing board and re-consider calculations, practitioners should be careful to ensure that these additional costs are accounted for.
The rules for revision of budgets were recently amended on 1 October 2020. The new rules of course introduced the Precedent T, however, they also introduced the mandatory requirement to revise a budget “promptly”.
Failure to revise a budget before conclusion of the substantive action may result in issues when attempting recovery of any additional costs come Detailed Assessment.
If you think that your case will be impacted and a review of your budget is required please feel free to get in touch.