It is extremely common for Deputies to be involved in ongoing litigation claims for Protected Parties. Deputies often become involved in interim payment applications and are usually asked to disclose details of the Protected Party’s affairs to the litigation solicitor to assist with the Schedule of Loss and other documentation. The main question that needs to be answered however is whether these costs can be claimed within the general management bill of costs.
Unfortunately, the answer is no…
Master Haworth considered a bill of costs where the Deputy had incurred costs through communications with the litigation solicitor to outline the Protected Party’s affairs to assist with an ongoing litigation claim. Master Haworth disallowed the costs that related to the litigation claim and he stated that “where the Deputy is being asked to provide information and/or schedules and/or documentation to support an interim payment application in an ongoing litigation these are not general management charges”.
Master Haworth directed the Deputy to withdraw their bill of costs and to re-submit a new bill of costs which did not include the litigation costs to allow him to solely assess the general management costs that had been incurred.
It is advisable that the Deputy’s costs which relate to the Protected Party’s litigation claim are not included within general management bills. Costs which relate to the litigation claim should be recovered within the litigation bill of costs. The Deputy should therefore outline their costs to the litigation solicitor to ensure that the costs are remunerated correctly.
If you require any further advice or assistance in relation to your Court of Protection costs, please do not hesitate to contact the Clarion Costs Team on COPCosts@clarionsolicitors.com or 0113 246 0622.
