Scutchings v Gibbs and Liverpool Victoria Ltd – 11th June 18
County Court in Manchester - District Judge Davies
Keoghs has successfully limited a claimant to Fixed Recoverable Costs, following acceptance of a Part 36 offer of £40,000 made by the defendant prior to allocation to track. The Court rejected the claimant’s various submissions that hourly rate costs should be allowed, which were:
The claim arose out of a road traffic accident which occurred on 3 August 2013. The claimant notified the claim on the Portal in September 2013. The defendant denied liability and the claim exited the Portal. The claimant obtained medical reports from an orthopaedic surgeon, spinal surgeon, psychiatrist and neurologist. Proceedings were issued in July 2016 and following service some months later a defence was filed in January 2017. The Court sent a proposed notice of allocation to the multi-track on 30 January 2017.
At the end of December 2016 the defendant made a Part 36 offer to settle the claimant’s claim in the sum of £40,000. This offer was accepted on 19 January 2017.
The claimant submitted a bill of costs for standard basis, hourly rate, costs. The defendant objected contending that fixed costs applied. Upon provisional assessment, the Court found that that fixed costs did not apply and allowed costs on an hourly rate basis. The defendant challenged the provisional assessment finding, contending that fixed recoverable costs applied to the claim.
The defendant submitted that a three stage test should be applied in these cases, which the Court agreed was appropriate:
In considering the matter the Court found that following the defendant’s three stage test, fixed costs did in fact apply to the matter. In response to the claimant’s arguments, the Court found as follows:
The decision is further confirmation that fixed costs apply to cases that settle over £25,000, prior to allocation to the multi-track that started in the Portal in accordance with the decision of Qader & Ors v Esure Ltd [2016] EWCA Civ 1109 and subsequent amendments to CPR 45.
Exceptional circumstances is a high threshold and it did not exist in this case where expert reports from four disciplines had been obtained. Claimants should take care in considering the value of a claim before notifying on the Portal.
It provides further certainty to defendants when making Part 36 offers that fixed recoverable costs apply to such cases.
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