Paul Jones considers recoverability of disbursements in fixed feed cases ‘Murray v Smith illustrates the arguments that can arise over the appropriate medical evidence in a straightforward case.’ With the growth in the application of fixed costs to personal injury claims, one area that remains open for arguments between the parties is the reasonableness or …
Continue reading "Costs: Two for the price of one"
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Wills & Trusts Law Reports | September 2013 #132Two sets of proceedings had come before the court, which had involved several applications. An order was made on 8 May 2013 by Deputy Judge Foster, which awarded costs. On 30 May 2013 Deputy Judge Foster set out her reasoning behind that order. The proceedings were in respect of a trust for the primary benefit of Louise Fyfe (the trust). The proceedings related to the successful removal of Mr John Watts (the defendant) as trustee and to a claim against the defendant for misappropriation of trust property (the property) which was in reality bought by a company owned by the trust (Dream St...
Judith Bloor and Christopher Malla assess the implications of Flatman v Germany; Weddall v Barchester Health Care Ltd ‘Recent changes in the costs regime, which came into force from 1 April 2013, include qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS) in personal injury cases.’In Flatman v Germany; Weddall v Barchester Health Care Ltd [2013], the Court of …
Continue reading "Costs: Turning the tables: costs orders against claimants’ solicitors"
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Paul Jones reviews a recent case that considers recoverability of fees ‘The defendant did not challenge the principle that the reasonable fees of a medical agency are recoverable, but it did submit that the paying party and the court could not ascertain whether those fees were in fact reasonable.’ With the growth in personal injury …
Continue reading "Costs: Medical agency fees under the spotlight"
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Wills & Trusts Law Reports | July/August 2013 #131On 6 August 2003, Cheryle Vallee (the claimant/respondent) visited her 93-year-old father Wlodzimierz Bogusz at his home. Ms Vallee, who lived abroad, told her father that she planned to visit next at Christmas. He replied that he might not be alive by then as he did not expect to live much longer. He handed over the deeds for his unregistered property, a house key, his war medals and a photograph album. The main asset of the estate was his property.
In December 2003 Mr Bogusz died intestate. Ms Vallee had been fostered and then later adopted after her mother and father’s m...
Paul Jones examines a recent case that illustrates how courts may approach new funding arrangements In the post-Jackson epoch, the litigation funding options will take some time to settle down. Gone will be the ubiquitous Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) where all the costs (including success fee and ATE premium) were payable by the losing party …
Continue reading "Costs: Credit where credit is due"
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Paul Jones reviews the transitional arrangements relating to detailed assessment of costs ‘Part 36 offers will now be a relevant factor in relation to the costs of detailed assessment as will any other “admissible offer to settle”, which would, presumably, exclude without prejudice offers but allow open offers and Calderbank offers.’ The 1 April reforms …
Continue reading "Costs: Confusion reigns"
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Jeremy Glover reports on Henry v Mirror Group Newspapers If one party is unaware that the other party’s budget has been significantly exceeded, they are no longer on an equal footing, and the purpose of the cost management scheme is lost. With the reforms to the way costs in civil litigation are managed being introduced …
Continue reading "Costs: Measure for measure"
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Paul Jones examines the cost implications of multiple defendants The general rule was… a starting point that could be departed from in an appropriate case and, in deciding what was an appropriate case, the court had a duty to exercise its discretion so as to do justice between the parties. Claims involving multiple parties always …
Continue reading "Costs: It wasn’t me, it was him"
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Wills & Trusts Law Reports | March 2013 #127Stanley Shirt, the claimant (C), owned the freehold of the family farm (Syda) and an agricultural tenancy (Rufford), which he lost in 2007 as a result of failure to pay the rent. He had three sons and a daughter. In 1974 C entered into a farming partnership with his wife, Marie (M), who died in 2004, and his son, Alan (A). Both farms were recorded as partnership assets. In 2006 C fell out with A and thereafter they carried on two separate businesses. A lived in a house on Rufford until the tenancy came to an end, when he moved into a caravan on Syda. C brought a claim for possession agai...
