The defendant had made an offer including an offer that each party bear their own costs. A later action led to an order on better terms, and the claimant sought costs on an indemnity basis.
Held: The rules were generally incompatible with offers which included costs. Their purpose was to direct costs after a case and its issues had been considered by a judge, and such offers would offer opportunities for abuse. Whilst the rules did not prevent a party making an offer in whatever terms it chose, but equally nothing in rule 36.1(2) allowed a term as to costs as part of the offer for the purposes of obtaining indemnity costs.
Judges:
Lord Justice Peter Gibson, Lord Justice Potter and Sir Murray Stuart-Smith
Citations:
Times 20-Jul-2002, Gazette 19-Sep-2002, [2002] EWCA Civ 997, [2004] 1 WLR 158, [2003] 2 All ER 1064
Links:
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Ali Reza-Delta Transport Co Ltd v United Arab Shipping Co Sag CA 17-Jun-2003
The case had concluded. Offers of settlement had been made and the operative one included an offer on the interest payable. The court came to decide how the interest part of the offer was to be considered when assessing whether the judgment bettered . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Civil Procedure Rules, Costs
Updated: 21 August 2022; Ref: scu.174441