Legal Cost Specialists
After the disappointing decision in Simcoe v Jacuzzi UK Group plc [2012] EWCA Civ 137 we now have some good news for defendants and insurers. How should the courts approach a detailed assessment hearing where the case concerns a child, damages for personal injury are agreed at no more than £1,000 and the matter proceeds […]
Dockerill v Tullett Read More »
I mentioned in a post the other day how legal aid was not introduced in this country until 1949. Although technically correct, I made the mistake of commenting on the subject of legal aid without first consulting with legal aid expert Murray Heining. He advises that this is what the Costs Lawyer training materials have
Sir Geoffrey Bindman QC writing in the New Law Journal: “In short, what the elaborate structure of assessment comes down to, is not to keep costs down to a reasonable level, but to determine a market rate. In reality, it does not even do that. At best, it is an imperfect means of limiting dishonest
Detailed assessment Read More »
One of the proposed changes to the provisional assessment pilot is: “When lodging documents for PA the parties should file (a) any open offer and (b) in a sealed envelope any offer under Part 36”. Now, filing sealed offers is very sensible and answers the problem I raised last year when the pilot was first
Open offers in provisional assessments Read More »
Forthcoming change to Costs Practice Direction with new 40.5A: “40.5A Unless the court otherwise orders, if the only dispute between the parties concerns disbursements, the hearing shall take place in the absence of the parties on the basis of the documents filed and the court will issue its decision in writing.” Nice.
Disbursements only, no hearing Read More »
I have a further footnote to add to the Simcoe v Jacuzzi UK Group plc [2012] EWCA Civ 137 decision. The Master of the Rolls, in his judgment, had expressed concerns that for a case which settled pre-trial for £12,750 the Claimant’s solicitors, Irwin Mitchell, had recovered nearly £75,000 by way of legal costs. It
Yesterday the Court of Appeal handed down judgment in the case of Simcoe v Jacuzzi UK Group plc [2012] EWCA Civ 137 and gave us a clear answer to the question of whether interest on costs runs from the date of the costs order (the incipitur rule) or the date costs are assessed (the allocator
Simcoe v Jacuzzi UK Group plc Read More »
I note that among the forthcoming changes to the Costs Practice Direction will be the deletion of the current CPD 39.2: “Where there is a dispute about the insurance premium in a staged policy (which has the same meaning as in paragraph 19.4(3A)) it will normally be sufficient for the receiving party to set out
Rules Committee in no doubt Read More »
Iain Stark, chairman of the Association of Costs Lawyers, was recently reported on the Legal Futures website, in connection with the plan to extend the provisional assessment pilot nationwide, as suggesting that provisional assessments should be handled by regional costs judges, or alternatively that regional costs officers should be appointed. This is such a no
Regional SCCO please Read More »
One of the pleasures of writing the Legal Costs Blog is the comments that readers add to posts. These are usually informative and thoughtful. Sometimes they are critical of the contents of something I have written. Sometimes these are outright (anonymous) personal attacks. I take the view that if one wishes to engage in this
Compensation culture Read More »