The High Court has imposed severe sanctions on a claimant who "genuinely but mistakenly" thought it was acceptable to file a costs budget excluding the phases of trial preparation and trial: Page v RGC Restaurants Ltd [2018] EWHC 2688 (QB).… Read more

The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court decision granting a non-party costs order against an insolvent company's director and majority shareholder. The court cited the claimant's failure to warn the non-party of its intention to seek such an… Read more

The High Court has ordered indemnity costs against a claimant who made repeated and serious allegations of fraud against the defendants and then discontinued the proceedings without explanation: PJSC Aeroflot – Russian Airlines v Leeds & Anor (Trustees of the… Read more

The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal against the High Court's decision to reduce the amount of security for costs a Russian-resident claimant was ordered to pay by applying a "sliding scale" of risk where the defendants had shown… Read more

A recent Court of Appeal decision illustrates the court's approach to awarding costs in the context of complex group litigation, and how it differs from the approach taken in ordinary commercial litigation: Sirketi v Kupeli [2018] EWCA Civ 1264. Under… Read more

It is well established that, where a third party funds litigation in return for a share of the proceeds, the funder is potentially liable for adverse costs if the claim fails. That liability is generally thought to be subject to the… Read more

In a recent decision in the HBOS acquisition litigation, the High Court has clarified the proper approach in considering a party's application to approve a revised costs budget in the light of significant developments in the litigation, under paragraph 7.6… Read more

A recent Court of Appeal decision confirms that the court can take account of a claimant's after-the-event (ATE) insurance policy when considering whether to make an order for security for costs: Premier Motorauctions Ltd v PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP [2017] EWCA Civ… Read more

The Court of Appeal has confirmed that a party who is awarded its costs of an interlocutory appeal is not entitled to an immediate assessment of those costs unless specifically ordered by the appeal court: Khaira v Shergill [2017] EWCA Civ 1687. The… Read more

Lord Justice Jackson's report on fixed recoverable costs has been published today. The key recommendation is to introduce a new intermediate track for claims between £25,000 and £100,000, which are of no more than modest complexity and could be tried in… Read more

The Court of Appeal has recently delivered an important judgment on the relationship between the costs budgeting regime and the costs that are ultimately awarded to a successful party in litigation: Harrison v University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust… Read more

A two-year pilot is to be introduced to test the use of a capped costs scheme in High Court claims valued at up to £250,000 which are proceeding in the London Mercantile Court or the Mercantile, Chancery or Technology and Construction (TCC)… Read more

The High Court has granted an application for security for costs against a commercial litigation funder supporting the then remaining claimants in the RBS Rights Issue Litigation. It declined to order security against another third party which was not in litigation funding as a business… Read more

The High Court has ordered the remaining claimant group in the RBS Rights Issue Litigation to reveal the identity of those funding the litigation, so that the defendants can consider whether to apply for security for costs against them: [2017]… Read more

The High Court has recently considered an important point regarding the interplay between the costs budgeting regime and the court's approach to assessing the costs a successful party can recover at the end of a case: Merrix v Heart of… Read more

The High Court (Mr Justice Coulson) has declined to order that a successful defendant should recover additional sums to reflect any currency loss caused by the decline in the exchange rate between sterling and the euro since the defendant had made… Read more

In assessing the costs to which a German claimant was entitled on having succeeded in its patents claim in the English High Court, the court has awarded an additional sum of £20,000 to compensate for the claimant's exchange rate loss on payments to its… Read more

A recent Court of Appeal decision has clarified how the court will exercise its discretion when granting an order for security for costs against a claimant resident outside the EU (or other relevant state): Bestfort Developments LLP v Ras Al-Khaimah… Read more

Last Friday (18 November) the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal brought by various third parties who funded the claims in the high profile Excalibur case. The decision gives important guidance on the extent to which commercial litigation funders will be liable for… Read more

Lord Justice Jackson has delivered the leading judgment dismissing an appeal against imposition of the so-called "Mitchell" sanction where a party failed to file a costs budget when required to do so, so that he was treated as having filed a… Read more

The High Court has ordered a claimant to reveal the identity of his litigation funder so that the defendant could apply for security for costs against the funder: Wall v The Royal Bank of Scotland [2016] EWHC 2460 (Comm). The… Read more

The High Court has held that a sole arbitrator did not exceed his powers in including the costs of third party funding within a costs award, and therefore refused a challenge to the arbitrator's award under s68(2)(b) of the Arbitration… Read more

In a recent decision, the County Court ordered a defendant to pay the costs of a claimant who discontinued her claim, reversing the usual costs position. This was on the basis that the defendant had failed to comply with the… Read more

In a recent decision, the Court of Appeal ordered the losing defendants to contribute to the costs the claimant was required to pay to the successful defendants, and clarified the circumstances in which such an order (a so-called "Bullock" order)… Read more

A recent decision of the Senior Courts Costs Office shows that the post-Jackson test of proportionality can mean a significant reduction in the costs a successful party can recover, even if those costs were reasonably incurred: BNM v MGN Limited [2016]… Read more

Significant costs can be incurred in the pre-action period while parties investigate a claim and follow pre-action protocols. At the same time, it is not uncommon for settlement discussions to be on-going. Where discussions stall, a claimant may be tempted to issue… Read more

The Court of Appeal has overturned an order depriving a claimant of part of her costs where she had beaten her own Part 36 offer: Webb v Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust [2016] EWCA Civ 365. Where a claimant obtains… Read more

The Court of Appeal has recently confirmed that security for a defendant's costs will often be granted against a foreign company who is not obliged to publish accounts, has no discernible assets and declines to reveal anything about its financial… Read more

The Court of Appeal has upheld a decision to make a non-party costs order against an insurer who defended its insured in proceedings: Legg and others v Sterte and Aviva [2016] EWCA Civ 97. The case provides a reminder of the… Read more

A number of amendments to the procedures for costs budgeting will take effect from 6 April. The main change, which is aimed at encouraging parties to agree budgets and thereby reduce the burden that costs budgeting places on the courts, is to… Read more