The scenario: the receiving party serves a bill for £75,000 and commences proceedings for detailed assessment under CPR 47. 6. In view of the sum involved, the bill is referred for provisional assessment under CPR 47.15 and Practice Direction (PD) 47.14.1. The bill is assessed by the judge at £72,000. Sealed offers lodged under PD 47.14.3(d) are subsequently considered. They reveal that the receiving party offered to accept £71,999, so the offer has been beaten by a whisker. Continue reading
For any motor insurance company looking for suitable New Year’s resolutions, it may be worth considering the cautionary tale of Southern Rock Insurance Company Limited v Hadar Hafeez. This Scottish case illustrates an important practical difficulty that arises from doing business online, particularly via price comparison websites. It also shows the importance of making sure that the questions asked in the proposal form (as well as the answers given) are retained in full. Continue reading
Costs budgeting, as we know it today, has been around for less than four years. It was only last June in Harrison v University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust that the Court of Appeal provided much needed clarification on the approach to be adopted by costs judges on detailed assessment on departing from approved or agreed budgets, if there is good reason to do so. Continue reading