The claimant succeeded in an action for personal injuries. The defendants agreed damages with costs. The claimant was assisted financially by his union. The defendants objected to elements of the bill, and asked for evidence that the bill was not in breach of the indemnity principle. A letter was produced which stated that the union’s relationship with the solicitor was that the solicitors were entitled to make a full solicitor/client charge. The district judge held that they were entitled to disclosure of the relevant material.
Held: The Court were concerned about satellite litigation in assessment proceedings, but that there was no breach of the indemnity principle merely because the litigant was a supported by his union. The paying party agreed that the costs judge could be provided with the information he needed. The solicitor’s Client Care letter should be attached to the bill of costs for inspection for taxation of costs, in order to demonstrate that no more is being charged than would have been charged to the client. The court attached considerable importance to the fact that solicitors are officers of the court and that they are trusted not to mislead the court or to allow it to be misled. Accordingly, the court indicated that it would expect solicitors to disclose the existence of a limit on the fees which they could recover from their client.
Judges:
Butler-Sloss, Henry and Judge LJJ
Citations:
Times 09-Apr-1998, [1998] EWCA Civ 566, [1998] 3 All ER 570
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Distinguished – Hollins v Russell etc CA 22-May-2003
Six appeals concerned a number of aspects of the new Conditional Fee Agreement.
Held: It should be normal for a CFA, redacted as necessary, to be disclosed for costs proceedings where a success fee is claimed. If a party seeks to rely on the . .
Cited – Garbutt and Another v Edwards and Another CA 27-Oct-2005
The client challenged his opponent’s solicitors bill of costs, saying that the other side had not been given an estimate of costs. The solicitor acted on several matters for the client and had not given a formal estmate.
Held: The absence of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Costs, Legal Professions
Updated: 30 May 2022; Ref: scu.144044