Summary Assessment Of Costs

Summary Assessment Of Costs

Summary Assessment of Costs in relation to the Technology and Construction Court

[rtbs name=”technology-and-construction-court”]Interlocutory hearings that last one day or less will usually be the subject of a summary assessment of costs in accordance with Civil Procedure Rules 44.6 and section 9 of PD44. The parties must ensure that their statements of costs, on which the summary assessment will be based, are provided to each other party, and the Court, no later than 24 hours before the hearing in question: see paragraph 6.9.3 above. The Senior Courts Costs Office Guide to the Summary Assessment of Costs sets out clear advice and guidance as to the principles to be followed in any summary assessment. Generally summary assessment proceeds on the standard basis. In making an assessment on the standard basis, the Technology and Construction Court will only allow a reasonable amount in respect of costs reasonably incurred and any doubts must be resolved in favour of the paying party. In arguments about the hourly rates claimed, the judge will have regard to the principles set out by the Technology and Construction Court of Appeal in Wraith v Sheffield Forgemasters Ltd [1998] 1 WLR 132: ie. the judge will consider whether the successful party acted reasonably in employing the solicitors who had been instructed and whether the costs they charged were reasonable compared with the broad average of charges made by similar firms practising in the same area. When considering hourly rates, the judge in the Technology and Construction Court may have regard to any relevant guideline rates. The Technology and Construction Court will also consider whether unnecessary work was done or an unnecessary amount of time was spent on the work. It may be that, because of pressures of time, and/or the nature and extent of the disputes about the level of costs incurred, the Technology and Construction Court is unable to carry out a satisfactory summary assessment of the costs. In those circumstances, the Technology and Construction Court will direct that costs be assessed on the standard (or indemnity) basis and will order an amount to be paid on account of costs under Civil Procedure Rules 44.3 (8).


Posted

in

,

by

Tags:

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *