Sun on Sunday pays damages to man wrongly linked to serial killer – The Guardian

Posted May 14th, 2013 in costs, damages, media, news by sally

“The Sun on Sunday ran a front page ‘world exclusive’ last November headlined ‘I’m Fred West’s love child’.”

Full story

The Guardian, 13th May 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Ramsey: costs management limits being reviewed – Litigation Futures

Posted May 13th, 2013 in costs, damages, judges, limitations, news, solicitors by tracey

“The £2m limit above which commercial cases are not subject to automatic costs management is being reviewed, the judge in charge of Jackson implementation has revealed, while also hinting that pre-issue costs may come within costs management in future.”

Full story

Litigation Futures, 13th May 2013

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Costs Management Pilot Report – Judiciary of England and Wales

“The Costs Management Pilot Scheme (the ‘Pilot’) was launched in all Technology and Construction Courts (‘TCC’) and Mercantile Courts on 1 October 2011. The Pilot applies to any case which has its first case management conference on or after 1 October 2011.”

Full report

Judiciary of England & Wales, 10th May 2013

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

WPc’s cut thumb will cost force £100,000 – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 13th, 2013 in appeals, compensation, costs, damages, health & safety, news, personal injuries, police by tracey

“Taxpayers were last night facing a legal bill of at least £100,000 after a long-standing compensation row involving a female police officer who cut her thumb while on duty.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 10th May 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Chris Huhne and ex-wife Vicky Pryce freed from prison early – The Guardian

Posted May 13th, 2013 in costs, early release, news, perverting the course of justice by tracey

“Ex-minister and former wife released after serving a quarter of sentences for perverting course of justice.”

Full story

The Guardian, 13th May 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Khans Solicitors (a firm) v Chifuntwe and another – WLR Daily

Posted May 10th, 2013 in appeals, costs, law firms, law reports, solicitors by sally

Khans Solicitors (a firm) v Chifuntwe and another [2013] EWCA Civ 481; [2013] WLR (D) 167

“The court would intervene to protect a solicitor’s claim on funds recovered or due to be recovered by a client or former client if the paying party was on notice that the other party’s solicitor had a claim on the funds for outstanding fees.”

WLR Daily, 8th May 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Court of Appeal issues strong warning of costs sanctions for lengthy skeleton arguments – Litigation Futures

“The Court of Appeal has hit out at lengthy and complex skeleton arguments, describing them as the ‘bane’ of commercial litigation and warning that failing to comply with the practice directions on them will result in costs sanctions.”

Full story

Litigation Futures, 8th May 2013

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Costs budgeting: Proportionality is trumps – New Law Journal

Posted May 7th, 2013 in budgets, civil procedure rules, costs, judiciary, news, proportionality by sally

“‘The budgeting of multi-track litigation is the most important of costs reforms that lawyers should prepare for’ advises Professor Dominic Regan, the leading expert in civil litigation (‘Not the end of the story?’). So, how should we—judges and professional civil litigators— ‘prepare’ now that the Jackson reforms are a reality? The short answer is CPD Training: Chapter 40 and Recommendations 89 and 90 of the Jackson Report (Review of Civil Litigation Costs: Final Report, December 2009).”

Full story

New Law Journal, 2nd May 2013

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Success Fees and ATE Premiums in the Patents County Court: Henderson v All Around the World Recordings Ltd – NIPC Law

Posted May 7th, 2013 in civil procedure rules, costs, county courts, fees, insurance, news, patents by sally

“As I mentioned in “Intellectual Property Litigation – the Funding Options” 10 April 2013, it was possible until the 31 March 2013 for a litigant to enter an agreement with his or her solicitors and counsel known as a conditional fee agreement (‘CFA’) whereby the lawyers would look to the other side for payment not only of their assessed costs but also of an uplift known as a success fee and the premium for insurance against their own and the other side’s costs in case of failure known as after-the-event (‘ATE’) insurance if they won the case or obtained a satisfactory settlement. As I also mentioned in that article, it is still possible to enter a CFA but any success fee and ATE insurance premium must now be paid by the successful party – usually out of any damages or accountable profits he or she may receive.”

Full story

NIPC Law, 4th May 2013

Source: www.nipclaw.blogspot.co.uk

Coombs v North Dorset NHS Primary Care Trust and another – WLR Daily

Posted May 3rd, 2013 in appeals, costs, detention, hospitals, law reports, mental health by tracey

Coombs v North Dorset NHS Primary Care Trust and another: [2013] EWCA Civ 471;   [2013] WLR (D)  158

“There was nothing inherent in the structure or wording of the Mental Health Act 1983 or the National Health Service Act 2006, and nothing by way of public policy, to exclude the possibility of a person detained under a provision of the 1983 Act from paying or contributing to the cost of his treatment or care.”

WLR Daily, 30th April 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

LAA must give reasons about funding expert assessments in care proceedings – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted May 2nd, 2013 in children, costs, expert witnesses, judicial review, legal aid, news, reasons by sally

“This successful challenge to a decision by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) arose from an expert assessor in family proceedings – not unnaturally – refusing to begin work unless funding was in place. If the LAA are asked to fund an assessment on behalf of a party with legal aid, then it is common for lawyers to obtain prior authority from the LAA to ensure that the expert will be paid for their work. If not, then the lawyers themselves can be liable for an expert’s costs. In this case, prior authority to pay for the expert assessment had been refused by the LAA thus resulting in further court hearings and delay in the resolution of the case for the children.”

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 2nd May 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

An introduction to qualified one way costs shifting: New CPR 44.13-17 – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted May 1st, 2013 in appeals, civil procedure rules, costs, damages, fees, news by sally

“In ‘part-payment’ for the loss of recoverability of the CFA success fee, Lord Justice Jackson gave Claimants a 10% uplift on general damages, which was enacted in rather peculiar fashion by the Court of Appeal in Simmons v Castle by means that can only be described as ‘judicial legislating’.”

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 19th April 2013

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Fraudulent claims – The net continues to close – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted April 23rd, 2013 in costs, fraud, insurance, news, personal injuries, solicitors, striking out by sally

“It seems that the courts – and in particular Central London Court – are taking an increasingly intolerant approach to fraudulent and exaggerated claims, and are visiting the consequences of such claims on the solicitors, as well as the unsuccessful claimant.”

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 18th April 2013

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Expert evidence and the amendments to CPR 35 – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted April 23rd, 2013 in civil procedure rules, costs, evidence, expert witnesses, news by sally

“The case of the Ikarian Reefer 1993 2 LILR 68, 81-82 is still the definitive case in respect of the duties and role of an expert witness and the introduction of the Civil Procedure Rules in 1999 was in part designed to reinforce that. In 2000 HHJ Toulmin further refined the definition in Anglo Group plc v Winther Brown & Co Ltd but in the last 10 or so years we have slipped back into old ways with partisan experts being allowed to provide wide ranging reports and encouraged by the parties to give opinions outside their actual remit.”

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 18th April 2013

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Cost budget revisions to fix mistakes unlikely to be allowed, says judge – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 23rd, 2013 in budgets, costs, mistake, news by sally

“Parties to civil litigation must be able to properly justify the need to make any changes to an approved costs budget, a High Court judge has warned.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 22nd April 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

The end of late chopping and changing – New Law Journal

Posted April 22nd, 2013 in amendments, budgets, civil procedure rules, costs, news, pleadings, trials by sally

“‘We will amend at trial’ was one of the most common phrases in legal parlance. No more. It is evident on several fronts that the days of belated change, even well before trial, are over. I would go so far as to say that a practitioner failing to act at the earliest possible opportunity is now looking at a potential negligence claim. The robust new attitude demonstrated by Lord Justice Jackson and his cohorts has been applied to pleadings, experts and joinder.”

Full story

New Law Journal, 18th April 2013

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Cutting to the chase – New Law Journal

Posted April 22nd, 2013 in case management, costs, damages, doctors, expert witnesses, news, personal injuries by sally

“The Jackson and associated reforms in civil court procedure are largely now in place. Extended ‘tracks’ and ‘portals’, reduced fixed fees, costs budgeting and non-recoverability of success fees will force lawyers to take a close look at the costs incurred in presenting an injury claim and how most efficiently to put the claim together. The medical report is essential, providing the foundations of much of the claim.”

Full story

New Law Journal, 19th April 2013

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Local authority ordered to pay substantial costs in family human rights case – UK Human Rights Blog

“This was a costs application arising from an extremely important decision by Peter Jackson J in June 2012 (see Alasdair Henderson’s post here and read judgment).”

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 19th April 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Civil Justice Council (CJC) group reports on defamation costs – Judiciary of England and Wales

Posted April 19th, 2013 in Civil Justice Council, costs, defamation, press releases, reports by tracey

“A Civil Justice Council (CJC) Working Group today publishes its report on the case and options for costs protection in defamation and privacy proceedings.”

Full press release

Judiciary of England and Wales, 18th April 2013

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

High Court issues strong warning over costs budget mistakes – Litigation Futures

Posted April 18th, 2013 in budgets, costs, news by sally

“It will usually be ‘extremely difficult’ to persuade a court to revise a costs budget that contains mistakes, even if the other party has not been misled or suffered prejudice, the High Court has warned.”

Full story

Litigation Futures, 18th April 2013

Source: www.litigationfutures.com