Fixed Fees to be delayed

It has come as no great surprise that the Ministry of Justice has delayed the extension of fixed recoverable costs (FRC) to April 2023. In September 2021 the government announced their intention to inclement the extension of FRC across all fast track civil cases and to introduce intermediate cases for claims up to £100k. October…

Take it to the Limit!

A short post to remind our contacts that the small claims limit for non RTA Personal Injury Claims will rise to £1500 on 6th April 2022. This seems to have crept up on many while the profession has been focussed on the far more dramatic whiplash ‘reforms’. This increase is broadly in line with inflation.…

Discontinuance and QOCS

There has been an interesting judgment in November 2021 about Notices of Discontinuance and the QOCS – McDonald and Excalibur and Keswick Groundworks Ltd v Interserve PLC. This was reported by Costs Barrister, Andrew Hogan at https://costsbarrister.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/E27YY493-McDonald-v-Excalibur-Keswick-Groundworks-Ltd-HHJ-Freedman-29th-November-2021.pdf The original claim was for personal injuries suffered in an accident at work in May 2016. The claimant…

Expert witness ordered to pay £50k+ wasted costs

Robinson v Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust & Dr Chris Mercier is an important development for all practitioners who instruct experts and even more important for experts themselves! The case is reported by barrister Gordon Exall who includes a link to the judgment – https://www.civillitigationbrief.com/2021/11/02/expert-had-a-flagrant-disregard-for-his-duty-to-the-court-ordered-to-pay-50500-wasted-costs/ On the face of it, this was a straightforward…