Put your own house in order, claimant lawyers tell NHS as fixed fees near – Litigation Futures

Posted February 16th, 2018 in costs, hospitals, negligence, news by sally

‘Claimant lawyers reacted with caution to the Department of Health’s announcement yesterday that it is setting up a working group on introducing fixed recoverable costs in medical negligence, saying that while costs could be cut in lower-value claims, the real goal had to be avoiding clinical mistakes in the first place.’

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Litigation Futures, 16th February 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Government agrees to further discussion of clinical negligence costs regime, amid concerns – Litigation Futures

Posted February 15th, 2018 in consultations, costs, hospitals, negligence, news by sally

‘Four out of five respondents to the government’s consultation on fixed recoverable costs (FRC) in low-value clinical negligence cases have echoed Civil Justice Council (CJC) concerns about a single joint expert being used, it has emerged.’

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Litigation Futures, 15th February 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Court of Appeal castigates judge who thought litigant with severe depression was “putting on act” – Litigation Futures

Posted February 15th, 2018 in appeals, costs, evidence, judges, mental health, news, setting aside by sally

‘A senior circuit judge who “clearly thought” that a litigant with severe depression was “putting on an act” has been strongly attacked by the vice-president of the civil division of the Court of Appeal.’

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Litigation Futures, 15th February 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Couple fined for using fake garage door to hide house in Leicester – The Guardian

Posted February 13th, 2018 in costs, fines, news, planning by sally

‘A couple have been fined after using a fake garage door and high fence to hide a residential property from a council.’

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The Guardian, 12th February 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

“Regretful” Court of Appeal rejects media firm’s bid to recover huge costs bill – Litigation Futures

Posted February 9th, 2018 in costs, fees, injunctions, legal services, news by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has upheld a decision that a leading media law firm could not recover hundreds of thousands of pounds in costs because its conditional fee agreement (CFA) did not cover much of the work it undertook.’

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Litigation Futures, 8th February 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Costs judge calls for “authoritative guidance” on applications by former clients for their files – Litigation Futures

‘Authoritative guidance on whether clients can demand their full files from previous solicitors would help the Senior Courts Costs Office deal with the large number of applications it is facing, a costs judge has said.’

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Litigation Futures, 2nd February 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Fire Safety – Who Pays? – Nearly Legal

Posted February 5th, 2018 in costs, fire, health & safety, housing, landlord & tenant, leases, news, repairs by sally

‘Since the extent of the issues with the cladding to blocks of flats became clear after Grenfell, and it became clear that private blocks as well as social were affected, we have been waiting for the beginning of the legal fall out over who was to pay for rectifying the problems. For leaseholders in those blocks, this was always going to be a very serious issue.’

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Nearly Legal, 4th February 2018

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Burns v Financial Conduct Authority [2017] EWCA Civ 214: a sign of things to come? – 4 New Square

Posted February 2nd, 2018 in company directors, costs, enforcement, financial regulation, news by sally

‘Directors’ duties, procedural fairness and issue based costs; the Court of Appeal decision sheds light on several aspects of financial regulatory enforcement action.’

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4 New Square, 15th January 2018

Source: www.4newsquare.com

Borough council secures £70,000 fine for HMO offences – Local Government Lawyer

‘Luton Borough Council has secured its largest ever fine – £70,000 – for breaches of the law regarding houses in multiple occupation (HMO).’

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Local Government Lawyer, 30th January 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Law Society joins battle over whether third-party capture insurer still has to pay solicitors’ costs – Litigation Futures

Posted January 29th, 2018 in appeals, costs, insurance, Law Society, news, solicitors by sally

‘The Law Society has been granted permission to intervene in the Supreme Court’s hearing of a case that made a major strike against the practice of third-party capture in personal injury.’

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Litigation Futures, 29th January 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Landmark leasehold case fails to slash extension costs – The Guardian

Posted January 25th, 2018 in appeals, costs, leases, news by sally

‘Campaigners have failed in a long-running legal battle to slash leasehold costs after the court of appeal ruled in favour of a major London freeholder. The case, Mundy v the Sloane Stanley Estate, involved a small flat in Chelsea where the lease had fallen to less than 23 years and the freeholder was seeking £420,000 to agree an extension.’

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The Guardian, 24th January 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Only solicitors can determine what is a bill’ – High Court throws out challenge – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted January 24th, 2018 in costs, documents, fees, news, solicitors by sally

‘The High Court has told a law firm’s former client that she was not entitled to treat a document included in a general file as a costs bill. The decision in the Sheffield District Registry of the High Court will be welcomed by firms seeking reassurance about the nature of costs bills and when they are to be considered as delivered.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 24th January 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Taxi driver found guilty of refusing to take blind man and his guide dog – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 23rd, 2018 in conditional discharge, costs, disability discrimination, news, sentencing, taxis by sally

‘A taxi driver operating in Sandwell has been found guilty of refusing to take a blind man and his guide dog.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 22nd January 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

UK courts service spending sees tenfold rise since 2010 – The Guardian

Posted January 22nd, 2018 in contracting out, costs, courts, Ministry of Justice, news by sally

‘The courts service spent £50m last year on agency and contract staff, a more than tenfold rise since 2010 when it spent less than £4m, while courts have been closing at an unprecedented rate.’

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The Guardian, 21st January 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

“Not unreasonable” for solicitors to switch from DBA to CFA shortly before trial – Litigation Futures

Posted January 19th, 2018 in costs, damages, fees, news, solicitors by sally

‘Claimants did not act unreasonably in switching funding from a damages-based agreement (DBA) to a conditional fee agreement (CFA) shortly before trial, even though the defendants are now facing a much larger bill, a costs judge has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 18th January 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

How we can cut the cost of divorce – Family Law Week

Posted January 16th, 2018 in arbitration, costs, divorce, news by sally

‘Hazel Wright, Partner and Accredited Mediator with Hunters Solicitors considers the cost benefits of a “no fault” divorce regime.#

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Family Law Week, 12th January 2018

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Serial mountain rescue faker who took a selfie while being winched to safety is jailed for 16 months – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 15th, 2018 in costs, emergency services, news, nuisance, sentencing by sally

‘As a means of attracting attention, staging accidents on various mountain ranges is not overly common. But that is likely to be of little consolation to the crews who have raced to the aid of Michael Cuminskey, a serial mountain rescue faker with a penchant for taking a selfie as he is winched to safety.’

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Daily Telegraph, 15th January 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Cost of divorce up 17% in three years amid soaring legal fees and housing costs – The Independent

Posted January 11th, 2018 in costs, divorce, fees, housing, news, reports by sally

‘Separating couples now typically spend £14,561 on lawyers and lifestyle costs, plus an additional £35,000 to rent or £144,600 to buy new property.’

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The Independent, 11th January 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Westmark (Lettings) Limited v Peddle & Ors [2017] UKUT 449 (LC) – Tanfield Chambers

Posted January 9th, 2018 in appeals, costs, landlord & tenant, news, service charges, tribunals by sally

‘For the purposes of Section 20B(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (“the 1985 Act”) a relevant cost is incurred by an intermediate landlord when that intermediate landlord receives a demand from its own landlord in respect of services provided by it or a superior landlord. A residential tenant’s 18-month limitation period begins to run only when his or her immediate landlord receives a demand incurring the cost, not when the superior landlord providing the service originally incurs its own cost.’

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Tanfield Chambers, 8th January 2018

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Appeal judges reject Saudi prince’s bid to halt claim due to unpaid costs order – Litigation Futures

Posted January 9th, 2018 in appeals, costs, news, royal family, striking out by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has rejected an application by a son of the late King Fahd of Saudi Arabia that one of his father’s former wives pay an outstanding £250,000 costs order or have her £15m claim stayed or struck out.’

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Litigation Futures, 9th January 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com