Click here for details of Kerry’s spring courses on Small Claims, Portals and Fixed Costs
I now deal with this in much more detail in Fixed Costs and Part 36
Fixed costs do not apply when a claimant matches or beats its own Part 36 offer. Indemnity costs apply.
Smith v Taylor, HH Judge Freedman, Newcastle-upon-Tyne County Court, 9 November 2015
Fixed costs do apply even when a claimant matches or beats its own Part 36 offer. Indemnity costs do not apply.
Dixon v Bennett, HH Judge McKenna, Birmingham County Court, 23 December 2015
Oxford English Dictionary
Fixed
“Firmly resolved; constant, steadfast, not fluctuating, definite, permanent.”
Now, I realise that laws are to be interpreted by the courts but fixed costs need to be, well, fixed.
We have the same uncertainty in relation to disposal hearings – see my blog DISPOSAL HEARINGS: WHICH FIXED COSTS ARE PAYABLE?
The Part 36 point was to have been heard by the Court of Appeal on 8 February 2016 in Butler v Palmer, but that case has just settled, so we are none the wiser.
The disposal hearing point will be heard by the Court of Appeal on 19 or 20 October 2016 in the case of Bird v Acorn Group Ltd.
With the proposal to extend fixed costs to clinical negligence cases this October, and potentially to all cases where the damages are less than £250,000.00, and to all commercial cases, it might be an idea if the Civil Procedure Rules Committee got some more fire power sometime soon.
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