Litigation/Dispute Resolution
Shell seeks millions in costs from law firm over failed oil spill claim
Listed law firm Rosenblatt is facing the prospect of having to pay out millions of pounds after the High Court allowed proceedings for costs orders against it to proceed.
Inability to afford a lawyer “cannot delay proceedings”, says master
An impecunious defendant seeking to stay an action because they cannot afford legal representation must show they are trying to rectify the situation, a High Court master has said.
Government publishes bill to reverse impact of PACCAR ruling
The Ministry of Justice yesterday published a two-clause bill to overturn the Supreme Court’s ruling in PACCAR and return certainty to litigation funding agreements.
Post Office lesson of “misalignment” between justice and desire to win
The case brought by the Post Office against former sub-postmaster Lee Castleton highlights the potential “misalignment” between advocates’ desire to win and a just outcome, academics have argued.
High Court upholds wasted costs order against law firm
A circuit judge was entitled to make a wasted costs order against a firm of solicitors that failed to translate their client’s statement and pleadings for use at trial, the High Court has ruled.
Lawyers can recover costs of attending rehab meetings “in principle”
The Court of Appeal has overturned a significant ruling last year that the costs of a fee-earner’s attendance at rehabilitation case management meetings are irrecoverable.
Former Lord Chief cautions against regulation of litigation funding
Regulation may not be answer for the future of the third-party litigation funding market, a former Lord Chief Justice has cautioned ahead of the Civil Justice Council review of the sector.
Restraint order for academic who sued chambers over website reference
The High Court has imposed a three-year extended civil restraint order on a former academic who has been pursuing Cloisters Chambers over a reference to him on its website.
Credit hire firm “voluntarily assumed” risk of claimants being dishonest
A High Court judge has refused to overturn a non-party costs order against a credit hire company, saying the firm “voluntarily assumed the risk” of the claimants turning out to be dishonest.
Revised litigation funding agreements piling up at Court of Appeal
The Competition Appeal Tribunal has granted permission for another post-PACCAR rewritten litigation funding agreement to go before the Court of Appeal.