Indemnity costs: Presume nothing

Andrew Post QC and Imran Benson look at how there is no presumption in favour of indemnity costs on late acceptance of a Part 36 offer ‘The only way out of the fixed-costs regime in such a case is to argue under Part 45.29J that there are exceptional circumstances making it appropriate for the claimant …
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Case Report: Prescott v Trustees of the Pencarrow 2012 Maintenance Fund (2017) unreported, Plymouth County Court, District Judge Richards, 12 June

Fixed costs regime; road traffic accident; non-road user; pre-action protocols; public liability claims, simple fast-track claims ‘The claim was straightforward and low value. The costs should be proportionate and the court’s time allotted to this matter limited.’ This decision provides important clarification as to the scope of the fixed costs regime (FCR) at CPR Part …
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Part 36 Offers: Make me an offer I can’t refuse

Jessica McGoldrick explains what they are they and why they are important in property litigation ‘Part 36 offers can be used in almost all areas of property litigation including claims for dilapidations, rent arrears, professional negligence, business lease renewals, or any breach of a contractual arrangement relating to land.’ The courts want parties to settle …
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Credit Hire: How to gain advantage

William Hibbert advises claimants and defendants on practice and procedure ‘An innocent claimant can recover damages for loss of use of his or her car even where a car is a non-profit earning chattel. Further, it is the duty of the claimant to mitigate that loss. Hiring a replacement car is such mitigation.’ Credit hire …
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CPR Part 36: Pitch perfect

Michael Morton outlines recent case law considering the use and practice of CPR Part 36 ‘To eliminate chance and create certainty, litigators will look to the precise effects of CPR 36 to ensure successful recovery of costs.’ An assessment of recent case law from a small road traffic accident claim to a substantial multi-party building …
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Costs: What constitutes proceedings?

Paul Jones considers the cost consequences of pre-issue Part 36 offers ‘While ”proceedings” could be given a sufficiently wide definition to include work done prior to the issue of proceedings, where there were no proceedings at all, there could not be said to be a deemed costs order in proceedings that didn’t exist.’ CPR Part …
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Costs: When are proceedings not proceedings

Paul Jones focuses on the latest litigation arising from Part 36 ‘One of the ambiguities left by the wording of the current Part 36 is that it is somewhat unclear as to what the costs consequences might be of a Part 36 Offer which is made and then accepted before proceedings are commenced.’ When the …
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