Solicitors.. Take note of the new reforms

In the recent case of Andrew Mitchell v News Group Limited, the ruling demonstrated to the parties the importance of following the orders given by the Court. The Court of Appeal has indicated how seriously the Court will take failure to comply with Court rules and orders.

In this case, the Claimant did not lodge a cost budget on time which resulted in them being deprived of a potential £500,000 of reclaimed legal costs (the Claimant was not at risk of loss as he was financing through a CFA). When issuing this decision the Court made it very clear that they will take a strict approach to the Jackson reforms.

The facts of this case is that the Claimant and Defendant were required to lodge a costs budget 7 days before the initial hearing. The Claimant did not show their cost budget until the day of the hearing of which the Defendant reasonably claimed was unfair.

Both the Claimant and the Defendant’s budget exceeded £500,000 and due to the lateness of the cost budget, the Court ordered that the Claimant’s costs be limited to any applicable Court fees. This totalled around £2,000 resulting in a huge loss for the Claimant’s representation.

The Claimant appealed this decision and the matter went before the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal agreed with the High Court and the opinion that the Jackson reforms are to be taken very seriously. We advise all litigants to comply with the Court orders to prevent this situation from happening again!

If you require any representation or a solicitor to take a matter through the Court on your behalf, please contact us today.