The paying party objected that Counsel’s bill had not been paid at the time the solicitors’ bill was presented.
Held: The court had an inherent jurisdiction to permit a solicitor to withdraw his incorrect bill of costs and to substitute a fresh correct bill. Jenkins LJ said: ‘I entirely agree with the judge when he said that one has to take a strict view to maintain the necessary safeguards, and nothing I say is to be regarded as suggesting to solicitors that they can be careless or unbusiness like in a matter such as this, and then as of course apply for and receive the assistance of the court. It is only in exceptional cases, cases of special circumstances, of genuine mistake of inadvertence, that assistance ought to be given.’
Judges:
Jenkins LJ
Citations:
[1956] 1 WLR 818
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Bilkus v Stockler Brunton (A Firm) CA 16-Feb-2010
Solicitors appealed against the rejection of their claim for an uplift in their fees amounting to andpound;50,000, based on the value element in the transaction in the 1994 Order. The court had to decide whether the matter came under the rules as a . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Legal Professions, Costs
Updated: 07 October 2022; Ref: scu.401611
