Home Office v Lownds [2002] EWCA Civ 365 – Law Journals

Proportionality: Under Pressure; the new test begins to bite

James Laughland highlights the case of Dr Brian May & Anita May v Wavell Group Plc & Dr Bizarri ‘Much more thought must now be given at the costs management stage to considering what would be the proportionate costs to incur.’ In Dr Brian May & Anita May v Wavell Group Plc & Dr Bizarri …

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Cost Management: Profiting from agents, delegation and budgeting

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Richard Allen summarises common grass roots costs issues and the importance of monitoring litigation resources ‘The matter of Nicholas Crane v Canons Leisure Centre proceeded to the Court of Appeal, who by a majority held that the costs consultant’s fees were “base costs” within the meaning of the CCFA and that the success fee was …

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Reform: Keep it in proportion

Adam Dyl takes stock of the implementation of costs reforms ‘Litigators are warned that in assessing costs the court will be more persuaded by arguments that you did all you could to deal with the case proficiently, rather than doing what was in the best interest of your client.’ It has been a few years …

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Costs: Less pain more gain

Miranda Whiteley summarises recent guidance on costs from the Technology and Construction Court ‘Proportionality is not all about the relationship between the size of the claim and the claimant’s (or the total) costs bill.’ We have had to wait for nearly two years for some guidance from the courts on the new proportionality test for …

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Procedural Reform: PI litigation in Jackson’s brave new world

Robert Cumming gives a view from the Bar and considers the practical consequences of the new rules The introduction of the CPR 1998 ushered in a new culture of active case management. Parties were no longer to be trusted to run their litigation efficiently free from judicial scrutiny. In little over three years Lord Justice …

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Costs: Get a grip – keeping a sense of proportion

Melanie Hart reviews the impact of the Trafigura case ‘Where the overall level of costs is disproportionate then each item of cost will only be recoverable if it passes the additional test of necessity.’ On 12 October 2011 the Court of Appeal delivered its judgment in Motto & ors v Ltd & anor (Rev 3) …

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Motor Claims: A costly business

Andrew Hogan looks at recoverability of ATE premiums under the pre-action protocol for low-value personal injury claims in RTAs ‘A solicitor considering matters reasonably would note: the vast majority of claims will settle within this process where the claimant’s risk to cost is non-existent.’ Cases are starting to reach the assessment process on the single …

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Assessment: Stay on track with costs

Shilpa Shah examines the difficult relationship between allocation and costs recovery ‘It was contended that the court should assess costs at the level allowed by reference to the small claims track provisions.’ While one of the aims of allocation was to enable the principle of proportionality to be dovetailed into the costs rules appropriate for …

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Costs: Summary execution

Paul Jones discusses the prospects of appeal following a summary assessment of costs ‘A judge should consider the component parts of the claim for costs but he was not obliged to go through a box-ticking exercise in which he had to make a ruling on each and every one of the elements of the costs …

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Bill Of Costs: Now that is a big Bill

Paul Jones examines an extremely useful case that provides a senior costs judge’s guidance on issues large and small ‘The claimant’s 100% success fee was always likely to be contentious, and so it proved. Master Hurst accepted that, at the time the risk assessment was undertaken, an assessment of the prospects of success at 50/50 …

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