Tag: Vulnerable parties

Consultations open in respect of QOCS and Vulnerable Parties

Andrew McAulay1 Comment

Following the fixed costs consultation published in September 2021, two further consultations have now opened in respect of provisions for vulnerable parties and the QOCS issues arising from Ho v Adelekun [2021] UKSC 43.

The consultations close on 20 June 2022 and details of how to respond can be found here.

QOCS consultation

We looked at the judgment in Ho v Adelekun back in December. The case clarified the position in respect of the interplay between CPR 44.12 and CPR 44.14, and the effect of QOCS on a Defendant’s ability to offset an order for their own costs against the Claimant’s costs. You can read that article here.

The decision confirmed that Defendants can only enforce their costs orders up to the amount ordered for the Claimant’s damages and interest (CPR 44.14 (1)). It was suggested at the time that this may lead to results that appeared unfair and that the CPRC may need to consider the issue to put right any ambiguities.

The proposed changes seek to address those concerns by adding the amount of any costs order to the sums set out in CPR 44.14 (1) and by including ‘deemed orders’ under Part 36:

Full details can be found here.

Vulnerable Parties Consultation

The vulnerable parties consultation proposes to add additional provisions for an amount in excess of fixed costs to be claimed where a party or witness is vulnerable, where that vulnerability has caused additional work to be required, and the claim is for an amount at least 20% greater than the applicable fixed costs.

Such claims will be assessed and, if the assessed sum is less than 20% greater than fixed costs, the court will make an order for the lesser amount of fixed costs or the assessed costs.

Full details can be found here.

You can find out more about our services here or you can contact the Costs and Litigation Funding team at CivilCosts@clarionsolicitors.com.

Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2021 & the 127th Practice Direction Update – Vulnerable Parties

Andrew McAulayLeave a comment

Back in May 2020 I wrote a blog following the annual open meeting of the Civil Procedure Rules Committee which was held via Skype for the first time. One of the costs related matters covered at that meeting was the proposed amendment to the CPR in respect of cases involving vulnerable parties. This followed the publication of recommendations in the Vulnerable Witnesses and Parties within Civil Proceedings report.

Those changes are now to be included in the Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2021 & the 127th Practice Direction Update and will come into force on 6th April 2021.

The amendments include a change to the overriding objective and a new Practice Direction 1A to cover the participation of vulnerable parties or witnesses . The text of the practice direction can be found here at schedule 1.

The CPR 44.3(5) proportionality factors will also be updated to specify that costs incurred will be proportionate if they bear a reasonable relationship to “(f) any additional work undertaken or expense incurred due to the vulnerability of a party or any witness.”.

Helen Spalding is an Associate in the Costs and Litigation Funding Department at Clarion. You can contact her at helen.spalding@clarionsolicitors.com or on 0113 288 5639.