Lord McAlpine settles libel action with Alan Davies over Twitter comment – The Guardian

Posted October 25th, 2013 in costs, damages, defamation, internet, news by sally

“Lord McAlpine has settled his libel action with Alan Davies over a tweet relating to false child sex abuse allegations, with the comedian agreeing to pay £15,000 in damages and issuing a warning to users of the social media service.”

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The Guardian, 24th October 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Richard III on the move again – pitched into the current judicial review debate – UK Human Rights Blog

“The Plantagenet Alliance Ltd (R o.t.a) v. Secretary of State for Justice and others, Haddon-Cave J, 18 October 2013 (PCO), and on permission, 15 August 2013. I posted here on the original judgment giving the Plantagenet Alliance permission to seek judicial review of the Secretary of State’s decision to re-bury Richard III in Leicester. At the time, the judge had made a full Protective Costs Order in favour of the Alliance, so that it would not have to pay costs if it lost. The judge had also ordered what he envisaged to be a short hearing to determine in what sum the Alliance’s costs should be capped. if it won.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 23rd October 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Ministry stands by Grayling evidence after bar chief challenge – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted October 23rd, 2013 in barristers, budgets, costs, fees, Ministry of Justice, news, select committees by sally

“Evidence given to MPs by Chris Grayling has sparked a spat between the Bar Council and Ministry of Justice.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 22nd October 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

MoJ decides against increase in small claims track limit – Law Society’s Gazette

“The Ministry of Justice will today confirm there is to be no increase in the small claims court limit.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 23rd October 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Owning a £2m apartment doesn’t mean I’m rich…’: Court dismisses banker’s claim that he cannot afford to pay ex-wife’s legal fees – The Independent

Posted October 22nd, 2013 in appeals, costs, divorce, news by sally

“The spending power of former City trader, Yan Assoun, 43, was described by a family judge three months ago as ‘beyond the wildest dreams’ of his estranged wife. But with his bitter divorce battle now in the Appeal Court, he insisted: ‘I don’t have any money’.”

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The Independent, 22nd October 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

High Court dismisses challenge to PCO in Richard III burial case – Litigation Futures

“The High Court has comprehensively rejected the government’s bid to overturn the grant of a protective costs order (PCO) in favour of campaigners for the reburial of King Richard III in York.”

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Litigation Futures, 18th October 2013

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Legal claims ‘could paralyse’ armed forces – BBC News

“A ‘sustained legal assault’ on British forces could have ‘catastrophic consequences’ for the safety of the nation, an influential right-leaning think tank has warned.”

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BBC News, 18th October 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

High Court refuses to delay high street court battle with MasterCard – The Lawyer

“An attempt by MasterCard to avoid a multi-billion damages claim from a dozen retailers because the monthly due diligence costs charged by its lawyers at Jones Day could be as much as £700,000 has been rejected by the High Court.”

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The Lawyer, 16th October 2013

Source: www.thelawyer.com

High Court: winning party should not be kept to out-of-date approved budget – Litigation Futures

Posted October 16th, 2013 in budgets, claims management, costs, news by sally

“The High Court has rejected a bid to limit a winning party’s costs to a previously approved budget where a substantially revised one was seen by the court and other party but not dealt with at the pre-trial review (PTR).”

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Litigation Futures, 16th October 2013

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Aarhus, A-G Kokott’s opinion, and the PCO reciprocal cap – UK Human Rights Blog

“Forgive me for returning to this case, but it raises all sorts of questions. On the face of it, it concerns 2 specific environmental directives, but it has implications for costs generally in environmental cases.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 15th October 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Libel tourism at an end, say lawyers following high court rulings – The Guardian

“Lawyers have heralded the death of so-called libel tourism after the high court threw out two cases brought by wealthy foreigners over allegations published overseas.”

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The Guardian, 15th October 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

BSB issues statement after Twitter confusion over judicial review costs – The Lawyer

“The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has issued a statement about the costs of a judicial review into the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA) following widespread outrage and confusion on Twitter.”

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The Lawyer, 11th October 2013

Source: www.thelawyer.com

Related link: Bar Standards Board Statement on costs and the judicial review of QASA

Six years, three judges, £350,000 in costs to the taxpayer… and no change: Judge hits out at ‘astonishing’ cost of Court of Protection case – The Independent

“A High Court Judge has hit out at the ‘astonishing’ cost of a six year legal battle in the Court of Protection which ended today after all parties agreed a woman should stay in care.”

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The Independent, 11th October 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Senior Costs Judge lays down marker by slashing ATE premium in PPI case – Litigation Futures

Posted October 11th, 2013 in costs, insurance, news, proportionality by sally

“The Senior Costs Judge has slashed the after-the-event (ATE) premium claimed in a payment protection insurance (PPI) case, giving hope to defendants currently facing huge bills for mis-selling.”

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Litigation Futures, 10th October 2013

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

QASA claimants granted costs cap – but at 10 times the level they wanted – Legal Futures

“The High Court has capped the costs exposure of the four barristers bringing a judicial review against the Legal Services Board (LSB) over the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA) – but at a level 10 times the one they had proposed.”

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Legal Futures. 10th October 2013

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

High Court grants injunction to losing bidder over £1bn waste contract award – Local Government Lawyer

“A High Court judge has granted an energy company an injunction preventing a waste authority from entering into a £1bn+ resource recovery contract (RRC) with a rival business.”

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Local Government Lawyer, 8th October 2013

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Parties to civil litigation need more guidance on costs, says expert, as High Court declines to approve “disproportionate” budgets – OUT-LAW.com

“Parties to litigation in the civil courts need more guidance about what constitutes an ‘appropriate’ costs budget and the consequences of not meeting the requirements of the new costs management regime, an expert has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 8th October 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Why Mrs Litvinenko did not get her PCO – but what if it had been an environmental claim? – UK Human Rights Blog

“An extraordinary story which would have raised our eyebrows at its implausibility had it come from our spy novelists. In late 2006, Alexander Litvinenko was murdered by polonium-210 given to him in London. He was an ex-Russian Federation FSB agent, but by then was a UK citizen. He had accused Putin of the murder of the journalist Anna Politovskaya. He may or may not have been working for MI6 at the time of his death. The prime suspects for the killing are in Russia, not willing to help the UK with its inquiries. But rightly, in one form or another, we want to know what really happened.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 9th October 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

High Court gives green light to QASA judicial review – Legal Futures

“Criminal barristers were yesterday given permission to pursue their judicial review against the Legal Services Board over the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA).”

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Legal Futures, 8th October 2013

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Anti-drones protesters who broke into RAF base are praised by judge – The Guardian

Posted October 8th, 2013 in appeals, complaints, costs, criminal damage, news by sally

“Six protesters who broke into RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, home of Britain’s first unmanned drones base, were described by a judge at their trial on Monday as ‘dutiful people’. He said it was only with a ‘heavy heart’ that he found them guilty of criminal damage to the base.”

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The Guardian, 7th October 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk