Legal Cost Specialists

Time to appeal in detailed assessment proceedings

Time to appeal in detailed assessment proceedings currently runs from the date of the decision being appealed rather than the end of the assessment proceedings. This can cause problems where a matter goes part heard.

A new CPR 47.14(7) is therefore going to be introduced on 1 April 2013 that reads:

“If an assessment is carried out at more than one hearing, then for the purposes of rule 52.4 time for appealing shall not start to run until the conclusion of the final hearing, unless the court orders otherwise.”

Very sensible.

But.

Under the section headed “Appeals from Authorised Court Officers in Detailed Assessment Proceedings” is CPR 47.23(1):

“The appellant must file an appeal notice within 21 days after the date of the decision against which it is sought to appeal.”

Note: this is a reference to date of the decision (as now), not the date of the conclusion of the final hearing. This is almost certainly a drafting error as the two conflict. There is no reason the time for appealing against a decision of a costs officer should be stricter than otherwise. Which prevails?

I have every expectation that an announcement will be made in the next day or two that there has been a terrible administrative mistake by a kid on work experience who has accidently released an early rough draft of the new CPR and Practice Directions and the real ones are yet to be released.

3 thoughts on “Time to appeal in detailed assessment proceedings”

  1. That’s an easy one.

    CPR 52.1(2) provides that Part 52 does not apply to appeals in D/As from authorised costs officers.
    Therefore CPR 52.4 does not apply.
    The new CPR 47.14(7) only bites through CPR 52.4, but since that does not apply it is irrelevant to appeals from costs officers.
    So, 47.23(1) still applies.

    Of course, as you rightly point out, that creates a manifest inconsistency and presumably is a result of CPR 47.23 simply being overlooked, but from 1st April people will need to be extra careful about their dates for filling notices of appeal until this is cleared up.

  2. Costs officers only assess a tiny proportion of cases though Anon and any decision by them can be reviewed by a Judge without a formal appeal.

  3. That’s not quite accurate.

    You don’t need permission to appeal from a costs officer, and CPR Part 52 does not apply, and any appeal is a rehearing not a review, all of whcih make it a simpler procedure, but there is still an express appeal procedure, with time limits, in CPR 47.23.

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