Motto v Trafigura [2011] EWHC 90201 (Costs); [2011] EWHC 90206 (Costs); [2011] EWHC 90209 (costs); [2011] EWCA Civ 1150 – Law Journals

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 …

Continue reading "Costs: Less pain more gain"

This post is only available to members.

Costs: Proportionality

Paul Jones highlights a recent case concerning costs incurred during the transitional provisions ‘Even where the global costs have not been held to be disproportionate, it was still open to the judge to apply the test of necessity to individual costs which he considered to be disproportionate.’ The 1 April 2013 brought a new test …

Continue reading "Costs: Proportionality"

This post is only available to members.

Fee Agreements: Cheap at half the price

Julian Chamberlayne and Kerie Receveur review recent case law on retrospective and discounted conditional fee agreements In Designers Guild, counsel were not prepared to match their instructing solicitors and enter into a full no win, no fee CFA, but instead agreed to act only on the basis that leading and junior counsel would be paid …

Continue reading "Fee Agreements: Cheap at half the price"

This post is only available to members.

Detailed Assessment: The provisional assessment pilot scheme: going 20% wrong

Matthew Hoe assesses the teething problems that may arise from rolling out the programme nationally ‘In a provisional assessment, the judge must now find his way through the minefield of costs without the assistance of an advocate. The probability that he will reach substantially correct decisions is diminished.’ The county court provisional assessment pilot scheme …

Continue reading "Detailed Assessment: The provisional assessment pilot scheme: going 20% wrong"

This post is only available to members.

Fee Agreements: Cheap at half the price

Julian Chamberlayne and Kerie Receveur review recent case law on retrospective and discounted conditional fee agreements Following Birmingham City Council v Forde [2009] and Gloucestershire County Council v Evans [2008], which respectively held that retrospective CFAs and discounted CFAs were not contrary to public policy, we have waited many years for decisions applying the principles. …

Continue reading "Fee Agreements: Cheap at half the price"

This post is only available to members.

Funding: Back to the future: costs reform

John Leadley, Nicola Gare and Charlotte Nolan discuss costs and litigation funding It is largely accepted by industry, practitioners, the judiciary and government that the introduction of the access to justice reforms in 1999 tipped the balance too far in favour of claimants. The long-awaited costs reforms brought about as a result of Lord Justice …

Continue reading "Funding: Back to the future: costs reform"

This post is only available to members.

Costs: Interesting times

Paul Jones considers the date from which interest should run ‘In 2011 there were a number of decisions, including Gray v Toner [2011] and Motto & ors v Trafigura & anor [2011], that held that, where a case was funded by a CFA, interest should not run from the date of the order but should, …

Continue reading "Costs: Interesting times"

This post is only available to members.

Funding: Counting the cost(s)

Nick Rowles-Davies discusses the future of third-party funding ‘Third-party litigation funding is the process by which a funder, unconnected to the parties to the litigation, provides the financial resources to a client to pay their legal fees in return for a share of the proceeds of the successful claim.’As law firms try to climb out …

Continue reading "Funding: Counting the cost(s)"

This post is only available to members.

Review: A year in the life

Mark Fowles looks back at the year’s important personal injury cases ‘English law has always been nervous about dealing with issues of causation The modern test is a test of policy. The first test is predominantly factual. The second gathers up much of the traditional language that lawyers use in attempting to set a limit …

Continue reading "Review: A year in the life"

This post is only available to members.

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) …

Continue reading "Costs: Get a grip – keeping a sense of proportion"

This post is only available to members.