Defamation and privacy case cost reforms earmarked for 2019 – OUT-LAW.com

Posted December 4th, 2018 in costs, defamation, fees, news, privacy by sally

‘Publishers that lose defamation and privacy cases brought against them in England and Wales will not be forced to pay the “success fee” charged by lawyers of the successful party via so-called ‘conditional fee arrangements’ (CFAs) under cost reforms due to be implemented in April next year.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 3rd December 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

Fundamental dishonesty – you have been warned (hopefully) – Zenith PI

‘I recently represented a claimant at trial in relation to a personal injury claim arising out of a road traffic accident. The defendant indicated an intention to pursue a finding of fundamental dishonesty. There were certain aspects of the evidence that might have led to such a finding, but such an outcome was far from certain.’

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Zenith PI, 30th November 2018

Source: zenithpi.wordpress.com

Boxing guru loses £922k costs fight with former lawyers – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 4th, 2018 in costs, fees, law firms, news, solicitors by sally

‘Boxing promoter Frank Warren has failed to persuade the High Court to order a detailed assessment of around £922,000 in costs rendered by his former solicitors.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 4th December 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Recovery of success fees in defamation cases to end – Litigation Futures

Posted December 3rd, 2018 in costs, defamation, fees, freedom of expression, news, privacy, protective costs orders by sally

‘The government is to abolish the recoverability of success fees in defamation cases – but retain it for after-the-event (ATE) insurance premiums, it announced yesterday.’

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Litigation Futures, 30th November 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Solicitors win on appeal over status of costs bills – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 28th, 2018 in appeals, costs, law firms, news by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has allowed a challenge from a law firm whose former clients wanted a full assessment of more than £200,000 in billed costs. Lord Justice Newey overturned a High Court ruling which had held that a statute bill served by a law firm should contain details of disbursements.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 28th November 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Divorce is not a “blank cheque” for litigation, judge warns – Legal Futures

Posted November 27th, 2018 in costs, divorce, financial provision, indemnities, legal representation, news by sally

‘Litigation is not a “blank cheque” and divorcing people cannot behave on the basis that they are bound to be reimbursed for their costs, a leading family law judge has warned.’

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Legal Futures, 27th November 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Deal with proportionality at start of assessment, says costs judge – Litigation Futures

Posted November 26th, 2018 in costs, news, proportionality by sally

‘Proportionality should be addressed at the beginning of an assessment, and not the end, because it should inform the reasonableness of the costs, a costs judge has suggested.’

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Litigation Futures, 26th November 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Party awarded 2% of value of claim “was not winner” – Litigation Futures

Posted November 16th, 2018 in costs, damages, news, restitution by sally

‘A claimant that recovered just 2% of the sum it originally claimed at trial was not the successful party, the High Court has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 16th November 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

QOCS judgment muddies the waters on costs-shifting – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 14th, 2018 in civil procedure rules, costs, damages, news by sally

‘A defendant who had initiated a counterclaim – and tried to receive the subsequent costs benefits of being a claimant – has lost his argument in the county court.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 12th November 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Court cannot order costs on account after part 36 acceptance – Litigation Futures

Posted November 14th, 2018 in civil procedure rules, costs, news, part 36 offers by sally

‘The courts have no power to order the payment of costs on account after a part 36 offer is accepted, the High Court has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 14th November 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Judge criticises City solicitor for giving witness statement to journalist – Litigation Futures

‘A High Court judge has strongly criticised a City partner who gave a journalist a copy of a witness statement made in support of an application for pre-action disclosure.’

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Litigation Futures, 13th November 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Owner of unauthorised scrap yard hit for £200k in fines, costs and confiscation – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 12th, 2018 in confiscation, costs, enforcement notices, fines, news, proceeds of crime, waste by sally

‘The owner of an unauthorised scrap yard in South Staffordshire was last month fined £24,000 and ordered to pay court costs of £28,280 at Birmingham Crown Court.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 12th November 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Avon Ground Rents Ltd v Child [2018] UKUT 204 (LC) – Tanfield Chambers

‘The UT comprised of Holgate J and HHJ Hodge QC (also sitting as County Court judges) gave valuable guidance concerning the importance of judges maintaining jurisdictional clarity and seperation when sitting as both FTT judges and County Court judges under the Residential Property Dispute Deployment Pilot.’

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Tanfield Chambers, 5th October 2018

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Defendants pay heavy price for refusing to discuss costs – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Defendants in a professional negligence claim who rejected the chance to settle costs have been left nursing a bill at least three times higher than it might have been.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 2nd November 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Hale urges lawyers to remember pro bono costs orders – Litigation Futures

Posted November 5th, 2018 in costs, judges, news, pro bono work by sally

‘The president of the Supreme Court has urged lawyers acting pro bono to remember to apply for pro bono costs orders in any case where costs would normally be awarded.’

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Litigation Futures, November 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

High Court backs claimant who issued just to recover costs – Litigation Futures

Posted November 2nd, 2018 in abuse of process, civil procedure rules, costs, negligence, news, part 36 offers by sally

‘A claimant was entitled to issue his claim solely in pursuit of costs where the defendant “acted unfairly” by trying to settle pre-action but refusing to pay any costs, the High Court has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 1st November 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Robot judges less likely than AI-assisted judges, QC predicts – Legal Futures

‘Artificial intelligence (AI) is likely to be used to lower the cost and increase the speed of judicial decisions, a QC specialising in IT and algorithms has predicted.’

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Legal Futures, 30th October 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Impecunious credit hire claimants ordered to provide pre-action disclosure – Litigation Futures

‘Impecunious road traffic accident claimants who benefit from the rule allowing them to claim full credit hire costs must provide pre-action disclosure of financial records, a circuit judge has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 22nd October 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Claimants who discontinued huge case during trial ordered to pay indemnity costs – Litigation Futures

Posted October 19th, 2018 in bankruptcy, civil procedure rules, costs, debts, indemnities, insolvency, news by sally

‘Claimants who discontinued their case four days into a six-week trial have been ordered to pay the defendants’ costs on the indemnity basis because their conduct took it ‘out of the norm’.’

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Litigation Futures, 19th October 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Partial relief from sanction for claimant who submitted partial budget – Litigation Futures

‘A claimant who submitted a budget that did not include figures for trial preparation or trial has won relief from a decision that limited the entire budget to court fees only – but only for those parts of the budget that were completed.’

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Litigation Futures, 17th October 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com