swarb.co.uk - law index
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Legal Aid - From: 1992 To: 1992
This page lists 6 cases, and was prepared on 02 April 2018.
Lockley v National Blood Transfusion Service [1992] 1 WLR 492; [1992] 2 All ER 589
1992
CA
Farquharson LJ, Sir John Megaw, Scott L
Legal Aid, Costs
There was an interlocutory dispute over the granting of an extension of time for service of the defence. The legally aided plaintiff challenged the costs orders made by the district registrar and the judge. Each ordered that the costs be the defendants', "not to be enforced without leave of the court save by way of set-off as against damages and/or costs". Held: The plaintiff's appeal on the costs order failed. "The issue in this appeal is whether, in a case where one party is legally aided, an order for costs in favour of the other party can direct that those costs be set-off against either damages or costs to which the legally aided party has become, or may in future become, entitled in the action."
The court confirmed the right of a party to set off a costs award against a subsequent damages or costs award in favour of an assisted person. Section 16(8) simply preserved those rights of set-off that the general law would allow and protected them against the charge created by section 16(6). It did not create any new right of set-off. Its effect was to make it clear that whatever rights of set-off were available under the general law were available against legally aided parties notwithstanding the board's charge.
Scott LJ discussed the principles applying on an application for set-off costs: "The broad criterion for the application of set-off is that the plaintiff's claim and the defendant's claim are so closely connected that it would be inequitable to allow the plaintiff's claim without taking into account the defendant's claim. As it has sometimes been put, the defendant's claim must, in equity, impeach the plaintiff's claim.
Set-off of costs or damages to which one party is entitled against costs or damages to which another party is entitled depends upon the application of the equitable criterion I have endeavoured to express. It was treated by May J in Currie & Co v The Law Society [1977] QB 990, 1000, as a "question for the court's discretion". It is possible to regard all questions regarding costs as being subject to the statutory discretion conferred on the court by section 51 of the Supreme Court Act 1981. But I would not have thought that a set-off of damages against damages could properly be described as a discretionary matter, nor that a set-off of costs against damages could be so described." and "A set-off of costs against costs, when all are incurred in the prosecution or defence of the same action, seems so natural and equitable as not to need any special justification. I would expect a party objecting to the set-off to give some special reason for the objection. It is, in my opinion, less obvious that a set-off of costs against damages would always be justified."
Legal Aid Act 1974 16(8)
1 Cites
1 Citers
Regina v Legal Aid Board ex parte Bateman Gazette, 29 April 1992
29 Apr 1992
QBD
Legal Aid, Legal Professions, Costs
A Legally Aided client had no locus standi to challenge the taxation of his own solicitors' costs bill.
Drummond and Co v Lamb and Others; Drummond and Co, WS v Scottish Legal Aid Board Gazette, 29 April 1992; [1992] UKHL 13; 1992 SC (HL) 1; [1992] 1 WLR 163; 1992 SLT 337
29 Apr 1992
HL
Legal Aid
The cost of excess work carried out under the green form scheme, was not recoverable despite the LAB's subsequent approval of the action.
Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986 10
[ Bailii ]
In Re H (Minors) (Abduction): Custody Rights (Number 2); HL 2-Sep-1992 - Gazette, 02 September 1992
Regina v Legal Aid Board ex parte Bruce; HL 9-Sep-1992 - Gazette, 09 September 1992
Regina v Isleworth Crown Court Ex Parte Willington Gazette, 16 September 1992
16 Sep 1992
QBD
Legal Aid
No review of Judge's refusal to allow transfer of criminal legal aid order.