It has been recognised for some time now that the Courts have the power to make costs capping orders that limit in advance the amount of costs that a party can incur in litigation. The crucial question has been how readily the courts would use this power. There are two contrasting views. One being that […]
Costs Capping Consultation Read More »
The case of Berry v Spousals (Midlands) Limited & Cape Darlington – (Birmingham CC) 24/4/07 concerned an asbestos related claim which settled for £5,000. The sticking point was the costs. As the judge commented on the subsequent costs appeal: “I will wager that the parties here, their lawyers, have spent more time dealing with and
The price of justice: gratis Read More »
In our recent Costs Law Updates we have been following the progress of challenges to the validity of CFAs entered into through the Law Society approved Accident Line Protect (ALP) Scheme. These challenges centre around the issue of whether there had been a breach of Regulation 4(2)(e)(ii) of the now revoked CFA Regulations 2000, which
Accident Line Protect Read More »
In KU v Liverpool City Council [2005] EWCA Civ 475 the Court of Appeal held that a court did not have the power to award a success fee at different levels for different periods in the claim where the Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) in question only allowed for one success fee throughout. It is therefore
Court of Appeal does it again Read More »
Since the CFA Regulations 2000 were revoked, on 1st November 2005, it should now be virtually impossible to enter into a defective CFA. Generally the only requirements for a CFA to be valid are that it is in writing and the success fee does not exceed 100%. GWS were recently instructed to advise in relation
Idiot-proof CFAs – tested to destruction by idiots Read More »
The Government has now published its Response to the consultation paper: Case track limits and the claims process for personal injury claims. This has already received a mixed reaction in the legal and insurance press but here we will simply deal with the costs issues, which appear to have only received limited commentary to date.
Ministry of Justice Response Read More »
The Advisory Committee on Civil Costs is in the process of a thorough review of the guideline hourly rates. However, pending its findings, the Committee has advised that the guideline rates from 1st January 2008 should be increased in line with the increase in average earnings in the private sector, currently 4%.
2008 Guideline Hourly Rates Read More »
We are pleased to be able to announce that Simon Gibbs of GWS will be a speaker at this year’s prestigious CLT’s 14th Annual Solicitors Costs Conference. He will be speaking on the subject of “Costs and the Paying Party”. The event will be held on 29th January 2008 in London. We are able to
14th Annual Solicitors Costs Conference Read More »
Gibbs Wyatt Stone recently secured a costs saving of approximately £160,000 in the case of Morgan v Llandow Metals (Newport County Court). The Claimant’s solicitors presented a Bill of Costs for approximately £160,000. An offer of £100,000 was made on behalf of the Defendant supported by an interim payment in the same sum. The offer
Morgan v Llandow Metals – £160,000 costs saving Read More »
