Michelle Radom looks at security for costs and the secretive defendant ‘Although a claimant does not have to voluntarily fill in the gaps of a defendant’s knowledge in order to support an application for security for costs, and deliberate reticence is not a breach of the rules, it was held that the court can and …
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Wills & Trusts Law Reports | June 2016 #160The first claimant, Mr Mason, was the settlor of a number of settlements. The second to sixth claimants were the beneficiaries under those settlements. The first defendant, Mr Coleman, was a financial advisor in whose favour Mr Mason on 3 September 2000 executed an enduring power of attorney in wide terms. The defendants were between them the trustees of the various settlements.
On 23 December 2004 Mr Mason served notice on Mr Coleman revoking the enduring power of attorney. On 2 February 2005 Mr Mason wrote again to Mr Coleman seeking information regarding the settlements, includ...
Paul Jones considers the costs implications of a dispute that was settled on the day of the trial, before the trial had taken place ‘The key in this case was that the third case of Section B of Table 6B clearly and expressly only applied where the case settles prior to the date of trial …
Continue reading "Costs: Trials and tribulations"
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Littlestone v Macleish [2016] sheds light on whether landlords’ costs on dilapidation claims are recoverable on a standard or indemnity basis. Rosalind Cullis explains ‘The decision in Littlestone suggests that landlords pursuing damages claims and with the benefit of a similarly worded clause in their lease can, if successful, seek to recover their costs on …
Continue reading "Costs: The price of ambiguity"
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In Blades v Isaac [2016] the trust fund paid a high price for the trustees’ initial refusal to disclose accounts. Tamasin Perkins analyses the judgment ‘Costs do not always follow the event. Trustees (both lay and professional) can lose and lose badly and still not have to pay costs from their own funds. This can …
Continue reading "Costs: Once more unto the breach"
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Paul Jones evaluates the latest updates to the CPR intended to save courts time ‘This new document sets out the figures claimed and offered for each phase of the budget and requires either the agreed sums to be recorded or a summary of the reasons why they cannot be agreed.’ Every practitioner loves costs budgets. …
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Wills & Trusts Law Reports | March 2016 #157The claimant and third to sixth defendants were beneficiaries under a will. The first and second defendants were the witnesses and executors of the will. The claimant unsuccessfully challenged the will with costs orders being made against the claimant in favour of the first and second defendants and the third to sixth defendants. As regards the third to sixth defendants’ costs the order provided that the costs (if not previously paid) should be payable out of what remained of the claimant’s pecuniary legacy after payment of the first and second defendants’ costs prior to the distribution...
Paul Jones examines the complications caused when a recent claim was passed to new solicitors ‘In conducting its analysis of the competing positions, the court started from the well-recognised principle that only the benefit of a contract can be assigned, not the burden, but that there were certain limited exceptions where it was permissible.’With all …
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Paul Jones reflects on a case where an insurer attempted to side step a claimant’s claim ‘While the court accepted that the individual claimants’ liability to their solicitor was nil and, therefore, there was no lien to protect, the court held the claimant solicitors had an entitlement in their own right to be paid costs …
Continue reading "Costs: Equitable intervention in legal costs"
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Lyn Ayrton and Claire O’Donnell suggest that costs orders penalising ‘litigation conduct’ may be on the rise and discuss some recent cases ‘There has been a notable increase in reported cases in which the court has made substantial costs orders for various aspects of litigation conduct.’There are two main types of conduct that may be …
Continue reading "Costs: Behaving badly"
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