The claimant appealed against the level of costs awarded to him in succeeding in his claim for damages for personal injury following a road traffic accident. The court had found that though the claimant had succeeded, the substantial dispute had been as to the level of damages where he had been less successful, and had reduced the award accordingly.
Held: The action was resisted to the end on the basis that the claim was fraudulent. That defence failed. The starting point was that the claimant should receive his costs. The claimant had succeeded on each head of his claim. The judge had been wrong to conclude that the second defendant had in effect succeeded on quantum. The correct way for a defendant to protect himself against an exaggerated claim was to make a payment in. It had chosen not to do so, and the appeal succeeded, with an appropriate upward adjustment being made.
Ward LJ
[2010] EWCA Civ 165
Bailii
Civil Procedure Rules 44.35
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Painting v University of Oxford CA 3-Feb-2005
The claimant had sought damages for personal injuries, namely injury to her back. Though she was found to have exaggerated her claim, she still recovered more than had been paid in. The defendant appealed a costs order based solely on the size of . .
Cited – Widlake v BAA Ltd CA 23-Nov-2009
The claimant had succeeded in her action for personal injuries, but now appealed against the awarding of costs to the defendant. The dispute had been substantialy as to the nature and effect of her injuries. She had not disclosed earlier injury to . .
Cited – Hall and others v Stone CA 18-Dec-2007
The claimants appealed against a reduction in their costs awards after succeeding in their claims arising from road traffic incidents. The judge had awarded them only 60% of their costs and they appealed submitting that there was no reason why they . .
Cited – Biffa Waste Services Ltd and Another v Maschinenfabrik Ernst Hese Gmbh and others TCC 31-Oct-2008
. .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Costs, Personal Injury
Leading Case
Updated: 11 November 2021; Ref: scu.402943
