Analysis
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 beneficiary to challenge legal fees that had been paid from the proceeds of the estate.
Held:
Appeal dismissed.
- (1) There was a distinction between s71(1) and s70(3) Solicitors Act 1974. Section 71(1) dealt with an application where a person other than the party chargeable was liable to pay the solicitor, whereas s71(3) involved an application by a person interested in any property out of which a trustee, executor or administrator had paid, or was entitled to pay, the solicitors’ costs. Tim Martin was wrong to assume that there was no distinction. Under s70(3) beneficiaries could raise questions about whether it had been proper, necessary or fit for the administration of the estate that things had been done, and about the costs of doing so, which was not possible under s71. The beneficiaries had an independent interest beyond that of the trustee, with a greater need to protect than a trustee who can pay fees out of the estate while owing fiduciary duties to them.
- (2) There were special circumstances justifying an order for assessment because the charges were £54,410 versus the estimate of £10,000-£15,000.
Continue reading "Kenig v Thomson Snell & Passmore LLP [2024] WTLR 595"
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