Category: Costs

Litigation Lawyers in London High Court

County Court Judgments and Enforcement after COVID-19

Following lifting of government lockdowns during the pandemic, enforcement action including bailiffs attending properties can now resume. There may also be changes to debt recovery legislation which protective measures were brought in during the pandemic to prevent aggressive debt recovery action from debtors affected by coronavirus. If you have received a county court judgment against you or your company, get in touch with our litigation team as soon as possible.

Court refuses to amend developers’ £1.5 million cost budget

The High Court has refused permission for two property developers to amend their initial agreed cost budget of approximately £1.5 million after an attempt to request almost double the sums allowed.

Unexplained wealth order

High Court issues costs penalty for failure to resolve issues with ADR

This latest High Court case again demonstrates the pitfalls for litigants who unreasonably refuse to engage in Alternative Dispute Resolution such as mediation to resolve issues. Parties that fail to do so risk be punished by the court when it comes to costs.

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Claimant’s Part 36 offer of 99.7% was genuine offer to settle proceedings

In a multi million pound breach of contract case, where there was no substantive defence to the claim and the Defendant accepted summary judgment and liability for the Claimant’s costs, the High Court held that a Claimant’s Part 36 offer to accept only 0.3% less than the full sum being claimed was a “genuine offer to settle” under CPR 36.17(5)(e).

Unexplained wealth order

High Court: Costs penalties for a failure to engage in mediation

If a party completely foregoes mediation will that party be punished in costs? The High Court judgment highlights that although the court cannot compel parties to mediate, an unreasonable refusal to do so is likely to result in costs penalties for a defaulting party. The costs risks of unreasonably refusing to mediate or not responding to a mediation proposal may be severe.

New Practice Note: Remote Hearings in the Senior Courts Costs Office

We specialise in detailed assessments where clients are disputing the charges of their former solicitors. If you instruct us we will vigorously fight your case and get a reduction of your bill, which we will consider doing for you on a no win no fee basis. We act for both clients and for the solicitors. Our London lawyers are based just minutes from the Senior Courts Costs Office and can be deployed with speed as the client’s needs and case demands.

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Solicitor-client dispute: Firm’s failure to update cost estimate

In a trial of a preliminary issue, Senior Courts Costs Office Costs Judge, Master Leonard, held that a law firm breached its professional and contractual duties by failing to adequately advise a client on mounting costs and failing to update an initial costs estimate for work on a matter after the estimate was exceeded.

failure to mediate costs

The Cost of an Unreasonable Refusal to Mediate

All solicitors have a duty to advise their clients about alternative dispute resolution (ADR), including mediation. Along with the ADR requirements in the pre-action protocols, the CPR and court schemes, overall, mediation is an option that must be considered by parties both before and during litigation (and a failure to do so can lead to costs penalties).

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Costs Judge rules divorce solicitors’ bill “requires explanation” in ordering detailed assessment

In Iwuanyawu v Ratcliffes Solicitors, the SCCO granted an application for detailed assessment of fourteen invoices delivered by her former family solicitors, many of which were out of the twelve month time period for assessment on the basis that they did not contain sufficient information to enable the Claimant to know what she was being charged for.

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Costs: The perils of making a Calderbank offer without a time limit

Once proceedings have started, it is not correct to assume that all bets are off and it is too late to accept an offer (in all circumstances). In fact, offers that are not time-limited, not withdrawn, and not a Part 36 offer are open for acceptance during a hearing (and therefore capable of acceptance when a party is in the best possible position to know what a judge will order).