Litigation Notes

Court of Appeal decision highlights indemnity costs risk where claimant pursues speculative claims and unreasonably refuses Part 36 offer

In a recent judgment, overturning the High Court's decision, the Court of Appeal has ordered indemnity costs in favour of a successful defendant …

Court of Appeal confirms Part 36 offer cannot be made exclusive of interest

The Court of Appeal has confirmed that an offer which is made exclusive of interest cannot be a valid Part 36 offer: King v City of London Corporation …

Liquidator's firm ordered to pay costs of insolvent company's unsuccessful litigation

The High Court has ordered a liquidator's firm to pay a proportion of the costs incurred by successful defendants following judgment in proceedings …

Court of Appeal confirms jurisdiction to award claimant interim payment on account of costs where Part 36 offer accepted within relevant period

The Court of Appeal has unanimously held that the court has jurisdiction to order an interim payment on account of costs pursuant to CPR 44.2 where a …

Supreme Court decision clarifies when non-party costs orders should be made against insurers

The Supreme Court has overturned the Court of Appeal's decision to award non-party costs against an insurer under section 51 of the Senior Courts Act …

Damages-based agreements (DBAs): promising proposals for reform

High Court finds impliedly "without prejudice" correspondence admissible on questions of costs

In a recent decision, the High Court has distinguished between correspondence which is expressly stated to be "without prejudice" and that which is only …

High Court orders Russian claimant to provide security for costs despite evidence of assets in Switzerland and Cyprus

The High Court has granted an order for security for costs against a Russian claimant, on the basis that there was a real risk that any costs order …

High Court declines to apply so-called Arkin cap to restrict funder's liability for adverse costs

The High Court has found that a commercial funder was liable for all of the defendants' costs incurred in successfully defending a funded claim, from the …

Court of Appeal confirms second claim an abuse of process after first claim struck out for non-payment of security for costs

In a recent judgment, the Court of Appeal upheld a decision to strike out a claim as an abuse of the court's process, where the claim repeated an earlier …

High Court finds Protective Costs Orders are not available in private law litigation

The High Court has applied Court of Appeal authority to rule that Protective Costs Orders (PCOs) are not available to claimants in private law …

Government consults on introducing fixed recoverable costs for claims up to £100,000

On 28 March 2019, the government published a consultation seeking views on implementing the proposals in Lord Justice Jackson’s report on fixed …