Paul Jones discusses the degree judges are bound by the approved costs budget ‘Budgets are intended to provide a form of control rather than a licence to conduct litigation in an unnecessarily expensive way.’ Costs budgets were a central pillar of Lord Justice Jackson’s civil litigation reforms with the stated intention that they would deliver …
Continue reading "Costs: Costs management and detailed assessment"
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Paul Jones explains the interrelationship between the capped costs of provisional assessment and Part 36 offers ‘The master assessing the costs had found that the cap in CPR 47.15 trumped the right to indemnity costs in 36.17 and it was this decision that the appeal court had to consider.’ One of Lord Justice Jackson’s reforms …
Continue reading "Costs: Area of uncertainty"
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Rick Brown and Victoria Cowan examine recent case law on security for costs post judgment ‘Republic of Djibouti is important for all commercial litigators, especially those acting on behalf of defendants, as it clarifies the circumstances in which further security for costs may be awarded post judgment.’Security for costs orders are regularly sought at an …
Continue reading "Costs: Show me the money"
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Wills & Trusts Law Reports | October 2016 #163Evelyn Irene Farmer (the deceased) died on 12 January 1996 leaving a will dated 10 August 1993 (the will). The claimants were five of the ten charitable remaindermen under the trusts created under the will. They took absolutely upon the deaths of the deceased’s son and daughter in law. The deceased’s son was deceased but the daughter in law was still alive, and consequently the claimants’ interests were yet to fall into possession. The defendants were the executors of the deceased’s estate.
In 2007, the defendants wrote to the claimants enclosing an interim...
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | October 2016 #163On 7 April 2016 judgment was delivered pronouncing for the force and validity of the will dated 1 February 2012 (2012 will) of Kenneth William Jordan (Mr Jordan) in solemn form of law and ordering that a caveat entered by the first defendant in respect of his estate cease to have effect. The normal rule of costs is that costs follow the event. However, the Court has discretion to make a different order, taking into account, for example, the conduct of the parties. In a contentious probate claim, there are also specific exceptions to the normal rule arising under case law and under the Ci...
Paul Jones discusses the contentious world of CFA assignment ‘The assignment was valid in this case and, therefore, costs were payable by the defendant for the work done by each of the claimant’s solicitors.’Assignment of conditional fee agreements (CFAs) continues to be a thorny topic in the costs world. With the changes in the personal …
Continue reading "Costs: Sharp turns"
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Paul Jones examines a case where a successful defendant paid costs due to delayed disclosure ‘The claimant applied to the court for an order for costs in their favour due to, in their submission, the unreasonable conduct of the defendant in failing to disclose relevant documentation at the earliest opportunity and, thereby, causing unnecessary costs …
Continue reading "Costs: Unbefitting conduct"
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The Upper Tribunal has provided clarification on when costs will be awarded for ‘unreasonable’ behaviour. Sarah Heatley explains ‘Martin Rodger QC and Siobhan McGrath, deputy and chamber president of the First-tier Tribunal respectively, were asked to consider what constitutes “unreasonable behaviour” under r13, and how it should be applied in practice.’ The Upper Tribunal (Lands …
Continue reading "Costs: Setting a high standard"
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Andrew Beck and Gwendoline Davies provide an update on pre-action costs ‘Issuing merely protective proceedings that, in all likelihood, will never be pursued, or issuing tactically to put pressure on a defendant to settle what might not necessarily be a very strong claim, could give rise to liability to pay the defendant’s pre-action costs.’A recent …
Continue reading "Costs: Ours not to count the cost"
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Paul Jones explores a case concerning whether a costs order applied to an appeal ‘The intention of the QOCS rules was to afford costs protection to claimants and, therefore, it would not be appropriate to treat the appeal as separate proceedings such that QOCS did not apply.’ It is now over three years since the …
Continue reading "Costs: The appeal of QOCS"
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