Where an action is brought against a solicitor who defends it in person and obtains judgment, he is entitled upon taxation to the same costs as if he had employed a solicitor, except in respect of items which the fact of his acting directly renders unnecessary.
Judgment of the Queen’s Bench Division (12 Q. B. D. 452) affirmed.
Bowen LJ said: ‘only legal costs which the Court can measure are to be allowed, and that such legal costs are to be treated as expenses necessarily arising from the litigation and necessarily caused by the course which it takes. Professional skill and labour are recognised and can be measured by the law; private expenditure of labour and trouble by a layman cannot be measured. It depends on the zeal, the assiduity, or the nervousness of the individual.’
Bowen LJ
(1884) 13 QBD 872, [1884] UKLawRpKQB 115
Commonlii
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Malkinson v Trim CA 20-Sep-2002
The solicitor had successfully defended proceedings brought against him personally, but employing his own firm to represent him. He sought his costs. The claimant disputed his right to costs.
Held: The claimant had served a notice of . .
Cited – Khan v Lord Chancellor QBD 17-Jan-2003
The applicant was a barrister. He had been tried and acquitted of criminal charges, and had been awarded cost from central funds. He appealed from a refusal of a claim for payment for the time he spent in preparation.
Held: The applicant was . .
Cited – Boyd and Hutchinson v Joseph ChD 14-Mar-2003
The claimant had been awarded costs, and sought to charge her time as a solicitor.
Held: The claimant had only a limited practicing certificate, which would allow her to work for others only without charge. She could not for these proceedings . .
Cited – Sisu Capital Fund Ltd and others v Tucker and others 28-Oct-2005
The Defendants were accountants who had been sued through their partnership in KPMG. They had been granted a order for their costs. They sought payment for the time they had spent prersonally in preparing their defences.
Held: As professionals . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 06 August 2021; Ref: scu.180907
