Forestcosting

The 92nd update to the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) has brought into effect a very significant change in the way that Bills of Costs for detailed assessment have to be prepared. The new electronic bill of costs, will become mandatory in the Senior Courts Costs Office and in all County Courts from 6 April 2018. The traditional […]

An interesting decision hot off the press from The Honourable Mr Justice Coulson dealing with the costs budgeting Precedent R process. A Defendant was criticised by the Court for putting in an “unrealistically low budget” of £79,371.23 in a claim with a pleaded value of £820,000 plus interest. In its Precedent R the Defendant offered […]

At Forest Costing Service Ltd we regularly stress to our clients the importance of keeping a close eye on costs budgeting requirements and deadlines. We find the too many Solicitors have considered the case of Denton v White to be a ‘get out of jail free’ card for compliance with costs budgeting requirements which it […]

Professor Fenn’s analyses of legal costs have underpinned the introduction of fixed costs in the civil justice system over the past 15 years, and he told the DoH: “The arguments put forward for extending the scope of the fixed cost tables beyond £25,000 in value are not persuasive.” More information on this development can be […]

The Court of Appeal in Jamadar v Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2016] EWCA Civ (21 July 2016) have recently upheld a decision of a District Judge who Ordered that a party’s costs be confined to recoverable Court fees only for a failure to file and serve a costs budget. This case once again demonstrates the […]

The recent decision of the Senior Costs Judge, Master Gordon-Saker, in the case of BNM v MGN Limited, is a troubling precedent for Claimant Solicitors. The Master halved a ‘reasonable’ Bill of Costs on the basis that he considered the costs to be disproportionate under the new test brought in by the Jackson reforms. After a detailed […]

Although the Solicitors’ Code of Conduct requires Solicitors to provide certain information in writing to their clients, the case of Fladgate LLP v Harrison [2012] EWHC 67 (QB) clarifies the position that the giving of instructions by a client to a Solicitor constitutes the Solicitor’s retainer by that client. It is not essential that the […]

In response to Lord Justice Jackson’s recent reaction to the delays in implementing the new model Bill of Costs, we suggest that his office should consider sanctioning the use of the following five options for the new model Bill of Costs:   BEAT IT The ideal Bill where you’re up against that tricky Part 36 […]

It is fair to say that if one asks your average litigator whether or not costs budgets are a good thing, the frequent response will be in the negative. Indeed, in our experience it is not uncommon for some Judges to make very unloving comments about budgets at the end of CCMC hearings when the […]