‘Defendant solicitors have welcomed a ruling that medical agency costs are irrecoverable under the fixed-costs regime.’
Litigation Futures, 17th June 2021
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘Controversial immigration reforms that could see lawyers hit with wasted costs looks set to be the centre of a High Court showdown. High-profile firm Duncan Lewis announced yesterday that it has issued judicial review proceedings on behalf of five clients over the Home Office’s New Plan for Immigration consultation, which closed last month.’
Law Society's Gazette, 10th June 2021
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘It seems there has been a never-ending line of costs commentary flowing through the reported decisions from financial remedy courts as of late. There is a clear trend of encouraging the making of costs orders; something that was far from the norm of no costs orders in contested financial remedy proceedings a few years ago. The reasons for this encouragement are many and possibly speculative; perhaps a by-product of the cuts to Legal Aid and therefore the lack of access to legal representation inevitably leading to extensive, unnecessary, and unmeritorious litigation, perhaps a consequence of the continued backlog in the family courts, perhaps an ancillary product of the widening parameters of judicial discretion and uncertainty?’
Family Law, 3rd June 2021
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
‘A litigant in a building dispute who claimed £3.7m in damages – only to be awarded just £2,000 at trial – has been hit with a costs bill of at least £500,000.’
Law Society's Gazette, 2nd June 2021
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The High Court has rejected an appeal from a solicitor struck off after charging an estate where he was sole executor over eight times the reasonable remuneration to which he was entitled under the will.’
Legal Futures, 18th May 2021
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘In Zuberi v Lexlaw Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 16, the Court of Appeal has provided important guidance on the nature of damages-based agreements (DBAs). By way of reminder, a DBA is a funding arrangement between a lawyer and a client whereby the lawyer’s fees are dependent upon the success of the case and are determined as a percentage of the damages received by the client. Under a DBA, a lawyer may not recover costs more than the total amount chargeable to the client under the DBA, and will not receive anything in the event that the case is unsuccessful. It should be noted that regulation 4(1) of the Damages-Based Agreements Regulations 2013 does not permit legal representatives to charge costs and expenses if the client terminates the retainer, whereas regulation 8 (which applies only to employment matters) does. This apparent conflict was considered in Zuberi.’
Law Society's Gazette, 17th May 2021
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The Ministry of Justice has been urged not to bring court-assessed civil legal aid bills in-house amid impartiality and transparency concerns as well as the impact on an already-dwindling supplier base.’
Law Society's Gazette, 13th May 2021
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘A High Court judge has given her reasons for making a costs capping order of £250,000 in respect of both the claimants, the Good Law Project and EveryDoctor, and the defendant, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in the procurement challenge over the award of contracts for the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE).’
Local Government Lawyer, 10th May 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Leibel v Baird CHI/29UC/HMF/2020/0035 (4 May 2021). This was an application for a rent repayment order in respect of an unlicensed property. Unusually, it also featured a rule 13 costs application by the tenant.’
Nearly Legal, 9th May 2021
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘The High Court in Manchester has ordered that an urgent trial take place of the claim by Joe Anderson, the Mayor of Liverpool, that Liverpool City Council are acting unlawfully in refusing to provide him with the same indemnity against legal costs offered to other council members.’
Local Government Lawyer, 6th May 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A High Court master has sent out a strong message on the need to seek budget variations promptly after refusing a bid to increase two claimants’ budgets by £1.3m.’
Litigation Futures, 13th April 2021
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘The review of the guideline hourly rates (GHR) has been widely criticised for only considering the costs judges have allowed, rather than what lawyers have claimed.’
Litigation Futures, 6th April 2021
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘The Court of Appeal has sent a firm message to litigators about the details required in a Part 36 after ruling that a claimant’s offer to settle at 90% was not genuine.’
Law Society's Gazette, 7th April 2021
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘A litigant in person has been ordered to pay almost £100,000 in interim costs after another reminder from the court that unrepresented people cannot expect special treatment.’
Law Society's Gazette, 6th April 2021
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Paul Lloyd, Helen Gascoigne and Catherine Craven analyse the latest court rulings and Ombudsman investigations of interest to housing associations and local authorities.’
Local Government Lawyers, 30th March 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A short but important judgment emphasising the costs consequence that a litigant may face if they have failed to negotiate openly and reasonably in the context of financial remedy proceedings was handed down by Mostyn J on 12 March 2021 in the case of LM v DM (Costs Ruling) [2021] EWFC 28.’
Family Law, 30th March 2021
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
‘In November 2020 Spice Girl Mel B was in the news, despairing about how the legal costs of trying to relocate her daughter Madison from the US to England were likely to bankrupt her, leading to her withdrawing her relocation application. The figure of $500,000 quoted included legal fees of $400,000 and $100,000 in accounting fees.’
Family Law, 30th March 2021
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
‘The court has the power to require a solicitor to attend court for cross-examination in respect of a wasted costs application, a High Court judge has ruled.’
Litigation Futures, 11th March 2021
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
© Inner Temple Library 2024