Kenig v Thomson Snell & Passmore LLP [2024] WTLR 595

Summer 2024 #195

The claimant and his sister were beneficiaries of the will of their mother. The defendant, a solicitors’ firm, was instructed by the sole executor to administer the estate. The defendant’s original costs estimate was £10,000-£15,000 plus VAT, but its invoices totalled £54,410.99 plus VAT and expenses. The claimant challenged the fees charged and applied for an assessment under s71(3) Solicitors Act 1973, which a costs judge ordered. The defendant appealed on grounds restricted to Tim Martin Interiors Ltd v Akin Gump LLP [2011], namely, that it was not open to a benefici...