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Implementation of electronic bill of costs put on hold until April 2018
Mandatory implementation of electronic bill of costs put on hold until 6 April 2018 “subject to the parliamentary timetable,” to enable the new process to be rolled out in the County Courts and the SCCO.
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Court of Appeal judgment in the Harrison Costs Budgeting case
The Court of Appeal has today handed down judgment in the important costs budgeting case of Harrison v University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust. The case is important reading in relation to the issue of how a budget affects detailed assessment. Click below to…
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Harmans Costs Brief – June 2017
In this issue we look at an important case from the Court of Appeal where refusal to mediate was not a bar to the recovery of costs. We also discuss another judgment that has been eagerly awaited by PI lawyers, the “£400 club” case. And don’t…
Tags: access to justice, ADR, costs, Costs Brief, costs budgets, Court of Appeal, Deputy High Court Judges, fixed costs, Insurance Premium Tax, IPT, Jackson reforms, LLST, London Legal Walk, Lord Chief Justice, Lord Justice Briggs, Lord Justice Jackson, mediation, Personal Injury, Precedent R, refusal to mediate, RTA Protocol -
Refusal to mediate is not a bar to the recovery of costs
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) should not be treated as unreasonable where a refusal to mediate might in the circumstances have been justified. In the recent Court of Appeal case of Gore v Naheed & Anor [2017] EWCA Civ 369 Lord Justice Patten said: …
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Reminder: The new standard rate of IPT is now 12% but…
The new standard rate of IPT is due from 1 June 2017 on insurance premiums received on or after that date which relate to risks for which the period of cover under the terms of an insurance contract begins on or after that date. Premium…
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Lord Chief Justice appoints 21 Deputy High Court Judges
Barristers from 11KBW, 39 Essex Chambers and 1 Garden Court are among 21 new Deputy High Court Judges appointed by the Lord Chief Justice for a single fixed four-year term. The new judges are: 1. Darryl Allen QC, Byrom Street Chambers. 2. Kelyn Bacon QC,…
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London Legal Walk – 22 May 2017
Once again Harmans fielded a team of walkers for what proved to be a beautiful evening’s walk around the centre of London. There was a record breaking turnout of more than 12,000 walkers from 700 teams. Organised by the London Legal Support Trust, the charity…
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J C and A Solicitors Ltd v Andeen Iqbal & Another [2017] EWCA Civ 355
On 16 May 2017, in a judgment that had been eagerly awaited by personal injury lawyers, the Court of Appeal unanimously agreed that no obligation to repay Stage 1 fixed costs (£400 + VAT) once received, is imposed by the RTA Protocol or by the…
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Cost Budgeting: Decision on Misuse of Precedent R to play a procedural game
Important decision for costs budgeting: COST BUDGETING: USING PRECEDENT R TO PLAY A PROCEDURAL GAME Blog by Kerry Underwood.
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Harman Costs Brief – May 2017
In this issue Costs Lawyer Suzanna Popplewell gives an overview of Proportionality; we look at CFAs and ATE Premiums and also feature a budget preparation fee explanation. Not forgetting it’s the month of the London Legal Walk! We hope you find the latest issue of…
Tags: ATE, budget fee, budget preparation, budgeted costs, budgeting, CCMC, CFA, Civil Court Proceedings Fees, Civil Procedure Rules Committee, costs, costs budget, costs management, Court of Appeal, Court of Protection, CPR, Deeds of Variation, Detailed Assessment, disproportionate, fixed costs, fixed fees, General Management, hearing fees, LASPO, LLST, London Legal Walk, Lord Justice Jackson, Merrix, PD3E, Practice Direction, pre/post April 2013, Precedent H, Professional Deputy Costs, proportionality, SCCO, success fees, Supreme Court -
Probate fee increase put on hold as MoJ runs out of time
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has stated that it has run out of time to push through legislation which would have seen a massive increase in probate fees introduced in May. As previously reported, fees had been due to increase, significantly in many cases, with…
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Budget fee preparation explanation
The minutes of the February meeting of the Civil Procedure Rules Committee have now been released. Given almost equal prominence as progression of the role of hot-tubbing in civil litigation are changes to be made to the provisions of section 7.2 of Practice Direction 3E.…
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Hearing Fees – no longer refundable
From 6th March 2017, the Civil Proceedings Fees (Amendment) Order 2016 came into force, prior to the implementation of these amendments hearing fees were refundable on a sliding scale depending on the date of the notification to the Court where a case settled pre-trial, i.e.…
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CFAs and ATE Premiums
Post LASPO Deeds of Variation and Assignments The Supreme Court has ruled that post LASPO variations to a pre-LASPO CFA did not constitute “new agreements” – see Plevin –v- Paragon Finance Ltd [2017] UKSC 23. There were two subsequent Deeds of Variation which respectively covered…
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Guideline Hourly Rates: Should We Still Be Stuck in 2010?
While Guideline Hourly Rates (GHRs) are taken directly from The Senior Courts Cost Office (SCCO) ‘Guide to the Summary Assessment of Costs’ where it is apparent that the rates are only a guide – and only in relation to summarily assessed costs – all practitioners…
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Court of Protection costs of General Management
Court of Protection Practitioners should all now be aware that in July 2016 the Office of the Public Guardian and the SCCO issued guidance in respect of “Professional Deputy Costs”. In summary, this is what you need to know when submitting estimates and bills for…
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Late acceptance of Part 36: A lesson to be learned
Late acceptance of Part 36: A lesson to be learned for Claimants and Defendants alike. Michelle Walton of Victoria Square Chambers reports: http://www.victoriasquarechambers.co.uk/late-acceptance-of-part-36-a-lesson-to-be-learned/
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Proportionality in Costs Beyond Detailed Assessment
Proportionality is one of the major issues that we find we are dealing with at the end of a matter, particularly in the small to medium value claims. Why was it introduced? It was considered that the then existing system was not working and that…
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Harmans sign up for the 13th London Legal Walk on May 22 2017
Harmans are proud to have once again entered an intrepid team to take part in the London Legal Walk 2017 due to take place on Monday 22 May 2017. Partners Gary Knight, John Moss, Steve Jones, Mat Knight and Sara Gould will be joined by…
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How are we doing?
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Harman Costs Brief – March 2017
Another busy month and lots to discuss, not least the new format bill of costs – Mat Knight takes a look below. We have also summarised the decision of Merrix v Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust plus much more. We hope you find this latest instalment of Costs…
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Keynote address by Lord Justice Jackson – 7 March 2017
White Paper Costs Conference – 7th March 2017 KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY LORD JUSTICE JACKSON – THE REVIEW OF FIXED RECOVERABLE COSTS
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Lord Chancellor announces changes to personal injury compensation payments
On 27th February, Elizabeth Truss announced her decision to lower the Discount Rate from 2.5% to minus 0.75% in accordance with the law and in her capacity as independent Lord Chancellor. The new discount rate will come into effect on 20 March 2017, following amendments to current…
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Legal Futures Special Report – Profit Motive: Increasing margins in challenging times
Click here to view the Legal Futures report online or click here to download.
Tags: Legal Futures -
Merrix v Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust
The issue of costs budgets continues to occupy court time with The Honourable Mrs Justice Carr DBE the latest, and most senior, judge to give consideration to what, if any, weight an approved costs budget had when the bill of costs was the subject of…
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Open consultation: Fixed recoverable costs for clinical negligence claims
The Department of Health is currently seeking views on its proposal for a mandatory system of fixed recoverable costs for lower value clinical negligence claims in England and Wales. It is important for practitioners to note that this consultation closes at 11.45pm on 1 May…
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Court of Appeal gives guidance on fixed costs regime
Fixed costs apply to pre-action disclosure applications made after leaving the portal – see Sharp v Leeds City Council [2017] EWCA Civ 33. The Court of Appeal recently decided what judges called, “a short but important point of interpretation of the Civil Procedure Rules,” which…
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Harman Costs Brief – February 2017
It’s February already and we’ve rounded up the latest industry news for you – Gary Knight takes a look at an important decision on appeal in Briggs and 598 others v First Choice Holidays, plus there’s guidance from the Court of Appeal on the fixed costs…
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Statutory Charge and Article 8 Damages
Statutory Charge and Article 8 Damages In the case of P v A Local Authority [2016] EWHC 2779 (Fam), P was a 17 year old who had been born female but wanted to change his identity to male. His relationship with his adoptive parents broke…
