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The Minsitry of Justice has belatedly publsihed its conclusions following responses to its Green paper 'Case track limits and the Claims process for Personal injury Claims' (http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/cp0807.htm)
The final report, some 15 months after the original report and over a year after the closing date for responses, presents a dramatically watered down version of the earlier proposals to streamline the process for dealing with injury claims.
In summary:
There is no timetable for implementation of the proposed reforms and there are, as yet, no details of the fixed costs that will be payable on the new claims procedure for RTA claims.
In reality, whilst the new claims process will put pressure on RTA insurers, the effects on insurers dealing with other types of claim will be negligible. What is clear is that by abandoning any extension of fixed costs beyond RTA claims, Defendants will need to continue to keep a close eye on Claimant legal costs in all other types of cases.
The 47th update to the CPR came into force on the 1st October. The main amendment is a complete re-write of Part 6 dealing with service of claim forms and other documents. The changes as they apply to the service of Notices of Commencement and Points of Dispute are modest, but important:
Service by post or DX
Where a document is posted or put in the DX, it will be deemed served on the second day after posting, if that is a business day, or, if it is not a business day, the following business day. Under the old rules, the deemed day of service was the second actual day (business, weekend or bank holiday) after service, as confirmed by the Court of Appeal in the case of anderton v Clwyd [2002] EWCA Civ 933.
therefore, if a Notice of Commencement is put in the DX on Thursday the 1st, it will be deemed served on Monday the 5th, meaning that the points of Dispute are due by Monday the 26th. Under the old rules, the date of service would have been Saturday the 3rd and the points of Dispute would have been due on Saturday the 24th.
Service by Fax
Service by fax is effected on the same business day the fax is sent, as long as it is sent before 4.30pm. Under the previous rule, the deadline was 4.00pm. If the fax is sent after 4.30pm, the service is deemed to occur on the next business day. Therefore, Points of Dispute served at 4.45pm on a Friday are not deemed served until the following Monday.
Service by E-Mail
Service by e-mail can still only be effected where the party to be served has expressly provided that such a service is acceptable or they have impliedly done so by including an e-mail address for service on any pleading. An e-mail address on a letterhead is insufficient. However, where e-mail service is permitted the deemed date of service is the same as applies to service by fax. Previously, an e-mail was deemed served 2 days after it was sent.
The full text of the amended CPR Part 6 can be found at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/civil/procrules_fin/contents/parts/part06.htm#IDAXLC1B
The case of McLoughlin v Irwin Mitchell[2008] EWHC 90113 (Costs), in which LCN acted for the Claimant, has been reported by the Supreme Court Costs Office. The case concerned a dispute between a firm of solicitors and their client as to whether interim bills delivered to the client were statute bills such that the solicitor could bring an action against the client for non-payment. The Claimant's case was that the interim bills were not statute bills and therefore there was no right to have the costs assessed until a final Bill had been delivered to the client. Master Simons, delivering a reserved judgemnet, held for the Claimant with costs.
The full judgement can be viewed at: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Costs/2008/90113.html
A solicitor from a leading firm of personal injury solicitors died and arrived at the pearly gates. To his dismay, there were thousands of people ahead of him in line to see St. Peter. but, to his suprise, St. Peter left his desk at the gate and came down the long line to where the solicitor was standing. St. Peter greeted him warmly. Then St. Peter and one of his assistants took the solicitor by the hands and guided him up to the front of the line into a comfortable chair by his desk.
The solicitor said, "I don't mind all this attention, but what makes me so special?"
St. Peter replied, "Well, I've added up all the hours for which you have claimed in your career and, by my calculation, you must be at least 194 years old!"
RTA Predictable Costs: Kilby v Gawaith [2008] EWCA Civ 812
The Court of Appeal has cnfirmed that the court does not have a discretion under the RTA predictable coss scheme whether to award a 12.5% success fee for a case funded byway of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Even where a Claimant has a Before The Event legal expense policy and still chooses to enter into a CFA, a success fee will be payable on the Claimant's predictable costs.
Non-Solicitor Costs - Cuthbert v Gair t/a Bowes Equestrian Centre [2008] EWHC 90114 (Costs)
Where a Defendant insurer instructed loss adjusters in relation to a case, they could not recover those costs when the Claimant's case was discontinued. Work done before solicitors were instructed by the Defendant was not a recoverable legal cost and whilst work done by the adjusters after the issue of proceedings could, in theory, be recovered, in the instant case there was no formal instruction of the adjuster by the solicitors and, therefore, their fees could not be considered a proper disbursement.
VAT on medical reports - Sutton v Selwyns Travel (2008) Birkenhead CC (Unreported)
The Regional Costs Judge held that where a solicitor instructed a medical agency to obtain a medical reports, VAT was only payableon that part of the agent's fees that related to their own charges. No VAT should be payable on the part of the fee that relates to the expert's fee for the report. However, this only applies to medcal reports obtained before May 2007, since VAT is payable on medical-legal reports obtained after this date.
Hourly Rates - A v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire [2008] (EWHC (1658)QB)
A Claimant who lived in Sheffield had acted unreasonably in choosing to instruct London Based solicitors in his action against for wrongful action by the police. The Court held that whilst there were difficult issues in the case, there were a number of large firms in Sheffield who could reasonably deal with such a claim, and it was incumbent on a reasonable litigant to make reasonable enquiries before incurring the additional costs of going to London solicitors.
To discuss any of the issues in this newsletter or the services provided by LCN please contact:
Paul Jones - Technical Director
E-Mail: paul.jones@lcnltd.co.uk
Telephone: 0870 766 4469
Or visit our website:
www.lcnltd.co.uk
We are pleased to announce that one of LCN's senior costs draftsmen has qualified as a Costs Lawyer. Bob Hanlon, who has more than 25 years experience dealing with legal costs and is a Fellow of the Association of law Costs Draftsmen, completed the qualification in September. Under the provisions of the Courts and Legal Service Act 1990, Bob is now able to conduct costs litigation on direct instruction from clients to include dealing with Part 8 proceedings, service of Points of Dispute and attendance at Detailed Assessment. Previously LCN have only been able to act in litigated matters on instruction from a qualified solicitor. This further enhances the service LCN can offer to all its clients.
For further information on this additional service, please call Bob Hanlon on
0161 742 4594 or e-mail bob.hanlon@lcnltd.co.uk
We are delighted to welcome Lynn Darker who has joined LCN as our Business Development Manager. Lynn has previously ran a successful professional services company and has particular experience of the solicitors' market.
To discuss with Lynn how LCN's services can assist you, please call her on 0161 742 4563 or e-mail lynn.darker@lcnltd.co.uk
In response to the very positive response LCN have received to our free legal costs seminars, we now offer a range of different courses dependent on your particular requirements. These include:
'The clearest costs presentation I’ve heard with excellent supporting material.’
‘The presenter was very knowledgeable’
‘An excellent talk on an ever changing subject’
We are also happy to tailor a bespoke seminar to match your exact requirements. Please contact Paul Jones paul.jones@lcnltd.co.uk - 0161-742 4575 for further information.
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