In this article Rebecca Henshaw-Keene looks at wasted costs orders following the judgment in Rainer Hughes Solicitors v Liverpool Victoria Insurance Company Ltd & Ors (Rev1) [2024] EWHC 585 (KB).The judgment contains significant guidance on preparing for wasted costs hearings and is an important addition to the line of cases on the requirements in respect of witness statements for non-English speakers. With thanks to Andrew Roy KC for his comments on the article. Background This matter arose from an RTA in May 2019 following which the Claimant brought a claim for injury ..read more

This blog post is written by Angela Frost of 12 King’s Bench Walk. Hadley v Przybylo [2024] EWCA Civ 250 A Court of Appeal judgment starting with “the first issue for us to decide is whether there is an issue for us to decide” at first blush may not appear to be a case worth your time reading, however this judgment clarifies an important point that comes up regularly at costs budgeting hearings in personal injury claims involving catastrophically injured Claimants. Master McCloud clearly thought it was an important point as ‘leapfrog’ permission to appeal was granted. The key issue was whether ..read more

This blog was written by Andrew Roy, Deputy Costs Judge & Head of 12KBW’s Costs Team Introduction  CFA Lites are very common form of funding operation.  They are sometimes colloquially described as “eat what you kill” agreements.  They generally operate by capping the solicitors’ costs at those recovered from the opposing party. However, the cap does not always apply.  Nearly all CFAs have clauses protecting the solicitor if the agreement ends before the litigation concludes.  The need for such protection arises because the solicitor’s fees are potentiall ..read more

In this article, Henry King provides commentary on the case of Diag Human SE v Volterra Fietta [2023] EWCA Civ 1107, concerning an unenforceable discounted conditional fee agreement (CFA). The judgment underscores the need for all practitioners acting under a CFA to take great caution when agreeing success fees. This is a short case comment on Diag Human SE v Volterra Fietta [2023] EWCA Civ 1107. This, and a number of other articles, foreshadowing 12KBW’s CFA series to follow in 2024. The Conditional Fee Agreement (“CFA”) is subject to a wealth of regulations. This article provi ..read more

In this blog Jeremy McKeown looks at the decision in Santiago v Motor Insurers’ Bureau [2023] EWCA Civ 838. Where an independent interpreter is essential to enable a party or witness to participate fully in proceedings or give their best evidence, the interpreter’s reasonable fee is recoverable as a disbursement under CPR r.45.29I(h) (‘any other disbursement reasonably incurred due to a particular feature of the dispute’). The overriding objective requires such a conclusion. The Court of Appeal’s decision is important insofar as it distinguishes Cham (A Child) v Aldred [2020] 1 WLR 1276, until ..read more

In this article Jake Loomes looks at the recent case of MGS v University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust [2023] EWHC 1547 (KB). The case concerned a child (MGS) born in October 2009 who suffered a permanent brain injury after becoming progressively hypoglycemic in the days after his birth. The claim related to the permanent injuries suffered as result of the clinical negligence of the Defendant: University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust. Liability was admitted and two issues came before the Court, namely: (1) approval of the settlement agreement (the Claima ..read more

This blog was written by Andrew Roy KC, Deputy Costs Judge & Head of 12KBW’s Costs Team. Introduction This article considers the judgment in Mundy v TUI UK Ltd [2023] EWHC 385 (Ch); [2023] Costs LR 153 in light of the subsequent decision Chapman v Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust (Re Costs) [2023] EWHC 1871 (KB). In Mundy Collins Rice J held therein that it was not possible within Part 36 to make an offer to settle liability on a percentage basis (90%/10% in this case) with the effect that the claimant could not obtain the benefits provided by CPR 36.17 when he established liabilit ..read more

For those of you attending the ACL Manchester Annual Costs Conference 2023 tomorrow we look forward to seeing you at the 12 KBW stand (Cressida Mawdesley -Thomas, Jeremy McKeown and Andrew Lyons from the Costs Teams and Graham Johnson from the clerking team will be there). Andrew Lyons will be speaking on Mediation, Early Neutral Evaluation (ENE) and Arbitration ..read more

This blog was written by Henry King, a barrister in 12 King’s Bench Walk’s Costs Team and looks at the case of Deutsche Bank AG v Sebastian Holdings Inc [2023] EWHC 9 (SCCO). This judgment concerns the costs of detailed assessment proceedings that lasted 97 days and was heard remotely. The Defendant for the purpose of the detailed assessment proceedings was Mr. Vik, against whom a non-party costs order had been made. The salient takeaway point is that all practitioners (not just costs practitioners) should not assume a matter will settle without detailed assessment proceedings and so should en ..read more

This blog by Dan Tobin examines the Court of Appeal decision in TRX v Southampton Football Club [2022] EWHC 3392 (KB). The Claimant sought to appeal the decisions of Costs Judge Brown in respect of three rulings, namely: the finding that there was no valid retainer between the Claimant and his solicitors until 17th October 2019, thereby resulting in the exclusion of costs for this period; that the CFA could not be effective until signed by the Claimant’s solicitors on 17th October 2019 (despite being signed by the Claimant on 3rd October 2019); and the finding of no order as to costs in respe ..read more