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These cases are from the lawindexpro database. They are now being transferred to the swarb.co.uk website in a better form. As a case is published there, an entry here will link to it. The swarb.co.uk site includes many later cases.  














Costs - From: 1996 To: 1996

This page lists 45 cases, and was prepared on 20 May 2019.

 
Brugger v Medic-Aid Ltd [1996] FSR 362
1996
PatC
Jacob J
Intellectual Property, Costs
The defendant had admitted copying B's drawings and designs for the creation of a nebulizer. To assist its election on damages, B sought preparation of details of the sales including costs and sale prices. When B also sought statutory damages, M said that having omitted it from the statement of claim, it was too late to make such a claim, and that the consideration of the costs were to be deferred pending the outcome of the inquiry, having made a Calderbank offer and given undrtakings as to future conduct. B argued that the letter alone was insufficent and that a payment in should have been made. Held. The costs were allowed. It was wrong to require so much work of M. The court set out what was required to allow the claimants to make an informed election based on estimates.
Statutory damages were not exemplary damages, and B should be allowed to amend and pursue that element.
Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 97 - Rules of the Supreme Court Ord 18.8 Ord 62.9
1 Cites



 
 Fitzgerald and Others v Williams and Others O'Regan and Others v Same; CA 3-Jan-1996 - Times, 03 January 1996; Ind Summary, 12 February 1996; [1996] 2 WLR 447; [1996] QB 657
 
L v L (Costs: Legal Aid Taxation) Gazette, 28 February 1996; Times, 26 January 1996; [1996] 1 FLR 873
26 Jan 1996
CA
Aldous LJ, Neill LJ
Costs
Solicitors hourly rates are not to be artificially reduced by use of averages. The judge had placed too much weight on artificially low average hourly rates.
Neill LJ considered recent cases and set out five propositions to be applied by the taxing officer: (1) the general principle of taxation is that a solicitor’s remuneration should consist of two elements - first a sum computed on the basis of an hourly rate which represents what is called the “broad average direct cost” of undertaking the work; and secondly, a sum, usually expressed as a percentage mark-up of the broad average direct cost for care and conduct:
(2) the broad average direct cost is to be assessed by reference to an average firm in the relevant area at the relevant time:
(3) the relevant time means the time at which the work was done. No allowance should be made for the consequences of later inflation:
(4) the District Judge can draw on his own experience and on information which is provided to him by local firms; the District Judge can also take account of surveys.
(5) an artificially inflated figure for uplift should not be used to correct or compensate for inadequate hourly rates: accordingly the appropriate hourly rates should be the rates which “represented the actual cost to the solicitor at the relevant time doing the relevant work (assuming always that the solicitor has acted reasonably and the costs are incurred at the appropriate level).
He added two qualifications. First that the words of Order 62 Rule 12(1) contain the key test "a reasonable amount in respect of all costs reasonably incurred" and, second that "I would also wish to leave open the question, which does not arise in this case, as to whether it is always correct to consider only firms in the relevant area. There may cases where it might be arguable that though the costs were reasonable for the solicitor instructed, it was not reasonable to instruct a solicitor practising in an expensive inner city area rather than one practising, for example, in a suburb."
Aldous LJ said: "The task of the taxing officer under Order 62 Rule 12 is to allow ‘a reasonable amount in respect of all costs reasonably incurred’. That requires two decisions. First, whether costs were reasonably incurred and secondly - what is the reasonable amount that should be allowed? We are not concerned with the first matter, as there is no dispute before us as to whether any particular work carried out should or should not have been carried out nor whether it should have been carried out by a partner or some other employee. The only issue before us is whether the reasonable amount should be calculated using as the Part A figure £45 per hour for a partner and £30 per hour for a legal executive . . The reasonable amount is not necessarily the amount that a solicitor charges, but is the reasonable amount that a party ordered to pay costs should pay. Thus the expense rate of certain solicitors may be totally irrelevant as their overheads and therefore their expense rate far exceeds that which other solicitors doing the relevant work would charge. A party ordered to pay costs should not be liable for the particular choice of solicitor of the winning party, but should pay the reasonable costs of the sort of solicitor that a person would have instructed with a view of the proper conduct of his case and minimising the costs of the litigation."
1 Citers


 
Turner v Plasplugs Ltd Independent, 27 February 1996; Times, 01 February 1996
1 Feb 1996
CA

Legal Aid, Costs
A party is not protected against a costs order when continuing an action beyond a limitation on the Legal Aid certificate.
Legal Aid Act 1988 17


 
 Wraith v Sheffield Forgemasters Ltd; QBD 20-Feb-1996 - Times, 20 February 1996

 
 Ismail and Another v Richards Butler (A Firm); QBD 23-Feb-1996 - Gazette, 06 March 1996; Times, 23 February 1996
 
Singh v Parksfield Group Plc Times, 20 March 1996
20 Mar 1996
CA

Costs
A Calderbank offer must explicitly state all its terms. It was not the same as a payment in, and additional clauses could not be imported.

 
Regina v Lambeth Borough Council, Ex Parte Wilson Times, 21 March 1996
21 Mar 1996
QBD

Costs, Legal Professions, Local Government
Individual local government officers can be made subject to wasted costs orders in appropriate circumstances.
Supreme Court Act 1981 51

 
Zanussi v Anglo Venezuelan Real Estate and Agricultural Development Ltd Times, 18 April 1996
18 Apr 1996
CA

Costs
Power to award costs is limited to costs of action and incidental costs.

 
Brown v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, White v Same Times, 24 April 1996
24 Apr 1996
CA

Costs
False imprisonment actions are actions for money, but the Judge has a discretion on costs.
County Court Rules 1981 Order 38 R 4

 
Gardiner v Gardiner and Others Times, 30 April 1996; Gazette, 10 July 1996
30 Apr 1996
CA

Costs
A delay in an application to strike out for no cause having been shown need not sound in the costs awarded.

 
Anderson v Hyde and Others Times, 02 May 1996; [1996] 2 BCLC 144
2 May 1996
CANI

Insolvency, Northern Ireland, Costs
The defendant company was wound up after the receiver had been appointed and the liquidator declined to take over the defence to the action. The judge had refused an application for a third party costs order against the receivers. Held: Had the defence been taken over by the liquidator the costs of the claimant would have ranked in priority to the claims of ordinary unsecured creditors, and it would not be just and equitable for a receiver to be able to defend the action without any liability for costs whatever the outcome. A receiver of a company taking over the defence of a case is liable in costs as a party, but is entitled to an indemnity.
1 Citers


 
Daniels v Lambeth London Borough Council Times, 18 October 1996; Gazette, 17 July 1996
23 May 1996
CA

Costs
Costs award above scale correct after assessment relative to scale.
The County Court costs scales are to be considered when departing from the scale. An award above scale rates may be correct after an assessment relative to the scale.
County Court Rules 1981 38(9)

 
Regina v Legal Aid Board Ex Parte Clement Garage Ltd and Another Times, 03 June 1996
3 Jun 1996
QBD

Costs
Parties to pay own costs on proceeding with application rendered academic.


 
 Gray v Richards Butler (A Firm); ChD 24-Jun-1996 - Gazette, 02 August 1996; Times, 23 July 1996
 
Gough v Chivers and Jordan (A Firm) Gazette, 10 July 1996
10 Jul 1996
CA

Costs, Legal Professions
A transfer of funds to pay a solicitor's bill with the client's approval starts the 12 months period for challenging it.
Solicitors Act 1974 70(4)

 
L v L [1996] Times January 26 1996 Gazette, 17 July 1996
17 Jul 1996
CA

Costs
Analysis of basis for calculation and comparison of costs rates between firms.


 
 Brackenbank Lodge Ltd v Peart and Others; HL 26-Jul-1996 - Times, 26 July 1996
 
Philip Harold Beasley v Kyriacos Paraskeva Richard John Culverhouse Steven Paraskeva Michael Branton [1996] EWCA Civ 583
15 Aug 1996
CA

Costs

[ Bailii ]

 
 Regina v Legal Aid Board ex parte Graham Dobson and Co (a Firm); Admn 7-Oct-1996 - Gazette, 30 October 1996; Times, 09 October 1996; [1996] EWHC Admin 87
 
Metalloy Supplies Ltd (In Liquidation) v MA (UK) Ltd Times, 12 December 1996; [1997] 1 WLR 1613; [1996] EWCA Civ 670; [1996] EWCA Civ 671
7 Oct 1996
CA
Millet LJ
Insolvency, Costs
A costs order against liquidator of company in litigation is only rarely to be given. The court should ask who is the 'real' party to the litigation: "[An order] may be made in a wide variety of circumstances where the third party is considered to be the real party interested in the outcome of the suit ... It is not, however, sufficient to render a director liable for costs that he was a director of the company and caused it to bring or defend proceedings which he funded and which ultimately failed. Where such proceedings are brought bona fide and for the benefit of the company, the company is the real plaintiff. If in such a case an order for costs could be made against a director in the absence of some impropriety or bad faith on his part, the doctrine of the separate liability of the company would be eroded and the principle that such orders should be exceptional would be nullified. The position of a liquidator is a fortiori. Where a limited company is in insolvent liquidation, the liquidator is under a statutory duty to collect in its assets. This may require him to bring proceedings. ... If he brings the proceedings in the name of the company, the company is the real plaintiff and he is not. He is under no obligation to the defendant to protect his interests by ensuring that he has sufficient funds in hand to pay their costs as well as his own if the proceedings fail."
1 Citers

[ Bailii ] - [ Bailii ]
 
Timothy Patrick Charlwood v Hood Sailmakers Limited and Hood Yacht Systems (Europe) Limited [1996] EWCA Civ 682
8 Oct 1996
CA

Costs

[ Bailii ]

 
 Nyckeln Finance Company Limited (In Administration) v Edward Symmons and Partners (a Firm); CA 8-Oct-1996 - [1996] EWCA Civ 681
 
Mary Dorothy Tracy v Geoffrey Gordon Ingram [1996] EWCA Civ 687
9 Oct 1996
CA

Costs

[ Bailii ]
 
Companhia Europeia De Transportes Aeros Sa; Antonio Anibal Andrade Baptists Lopes, ex parte v British Aerospace Plc and CIBC Finance Plc [1996] EWCA Civ 697
11 Oct 1996
CA

Litigation Practice, Costs

[ Bailii ]
 
Bentley and Hewett and Co v Gaisford and Sinclair Roche and Temperley [1996] EWCA Civ 777
21 Oct 1996
CA

Legal Professions, Costs

1 Cites

[ Bailii ]
 
Carvel and Guardian Newspapers v Council T-19/96; [1996] EUECJ T-19/96
22 Oct 1996
ECFI

European, Costs
ECFI Procedure - Costs - Action for annulment - Applicants' withdrawal - Conditions for the award of costs against the other party not satisfied
[ Bailii ]
 
Regina v London Borough of Camden ex parte Margarita Martin Times, 11 November 1996; [1997] 1 All ER 307; [1996] EWHC Admin 151
25 Oct 1996
Admn

Costs, Legal Professions
The court has no power to make a wasted costs order in favour of a party opposing an ex parte application.
1 Cites

1 Citers

[ Bailii ]

 
 British Diabetic Association v Diabetic Society; Bennett and Atkin; CA 31-Oct-1996 - [1996] EWCA Civ 839
 
Lt Col S Kawarindrasingh v White [1996] EWCA Civ 882
5 Nov 1996
CA

Costs

[ Bailii ]
 
Rosling King (a Firm) v William Shaw [1996] EWCA Civ 908
7 Nov 1996
CA

Costs

[ Bailii ]
 
Regina v Associated Octel Co Ltd (Costs) Times, 15 November 1996
15 Nov 1996
CACD

Criminal Practice, Costs
Costs awarded to the prosecution can include the costs of the investigation before the charge was laid.
Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 18

 
Tharros Shipping Co Ltd; Den Norske Bank Plc v Bias Shipping Limited; Bulk Shipping Ag and Bulk Oil Ag [1996] EWCA Civ 1008
20 Nov 1996
CA

Costs

[ Bailii ]
 
Murphy, and Murphy v Young and Co's Brewery Plc, Sun Alliance and London Insurance Plc Times, 08 January 1997; [1996] EWCA Civ 1000; [1997] 1 All ER 518; [1997] 1 WLR 1591
20 Nov 1996
CA
Phillips LJ
Costs, Insurance
When an unsuccessful party has had its legal costs funded under legal expenses insurance, should the insurer be held liable to pay the successful party's costs? The insurer had not instigated the litigation, nor controlled it, and could not be accused of "wanton and officious intermeddling". The insurance was general and did not relate to this particular litigation. A costs order would be inappropriate. "Funding alone will not justify an order against the funder under section 51. I do not consider that an order under section 51 will normally be appropriate where a disinterested relative has, out of natural affection, funded costs of a claim or a defence that is reasonably advanced."
Supreme Court Act 1981 51
1 Cites

1 Citers

[ Bailii ]
 
Astra Holdings Plc v Painewebber International (UK) Limited; Painewebber International (UK) Limited; Stoy Hayward and Baileys Shaw and Gillett [1996] EWCA Civ 1011
21 Nov 1996
CA

Costs

[ Bailii ]
 
H Leverton Ltd v Crawford Offshore (Exploration) Services Ltd (In Liquidation) Times, 22 November 1996
22 Nov 1996
QBD

Costs
It was possible to award costs against non-party to action where sole director of party.


 
 United Road Transport Union and others v Shaw Carpets; EAT 25-Nov-1996 - [1996] UKEAT 211 - 96 - 2511
 
Philcox v Civil Aviation Authority [1996] EWCA Civ 1117
5 Dec 1996
CA
Staughton LJ, Millett LJ, Ward LJ
Legal Aid, Costs

1 Cites

[ Bailii ]
 
A Blyth v A G Blyth [1996] EWCA Civ 1107
5 Dec 1996
CA

Family, Costs
Appeal against garnishee order.
[ Bailii ]
 
R v R (Costs: Child Case); In re R (a Minor) [1997] 1 FCR 613; [1997] 2 FLR 95; [1996] EWCA Civ 1120; [1997] Fam Law 391
5 Dec 1996
CA
Hale J, Staughton LJ
Costs, Children
The court analysed the reasons why costs orders were generally not made in cases involving children.
1 Citers

[ Bailii ]
 
McCaffery v Datta; Datta and St Anne's Nursing Home Limited Gazette, 22 January 1997; Times, 09 January 1997; [1996] EWCA Civ 1179
11 Dec 1996
CA

Personal Injury, Costs
Costs payable to the plaintiff after an award which was greater than the payment in even though it might be less than the sum of benefits which might be recouped.
Social Security Administration Act 1992
[ Bailii ]
 
Kawarindrasingh v White Times, 19 December 1996; Gazette, 13 December 1996
13 Dec 1996
CA

Costs, Litigation Practice
A judge who was reviewing the taxation of a litigant in person's bill of costs, has the powers of taxing officer. He was not limited to changing the taxing officer's decision if it was Wednesbury unreasonable. He had his own discretion.

 
Regina v Justices of Luton Family Proceedings Court; Her Honour Judge Pearce of Luton County Court; Director of Social Services of Bedfordshire County Council ex parte Abdul Rahman and Azra Bi [1996] EWHC Admin 368
16 Dec 1996
Admn
The Master Of The Rolls (Lord Woolf) Lord Justice Aldous Lord Justice Chadwick
Legal Professions, Costs, Children
In the course of urgent children proceedings, counsel advised solicitors inappropriately to seek judicial review of a court decision. The application was persisted with despite warnings from the respondents that they intended to seek a wasted costs order against the solicitor and counsel personally. Such an order was made, and appealed. Held: The proposition that a solicitor who acts on counsel's advice must bear responsibility for that advice in all circumstances cannot be supported. Earlier orders had not been entirely correctly obtained. The local authority had made a decision which would have made any proceedings unnecessary, but did not communicate it to the solicitors. The order against the solicitor could not stand. Similarly the procedure for claiming an order against counsel had not been followed. Both orders were set aside.
Supreme Court Act 1981 51 - Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 4
1 Cites

[ Bailii ]
 
Laura Caroline Ambrose v Joseph Christopher Lawlor [1996] EWCA Civ 1250
18 Dec 1996
CA

Housing, Costs

[ Bailii ]

 
 Danefield Securities Ltd v Sonuga and Another; QBD 31-Dec-1996 - Times, 31 December 1996
 
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