March 2025 Recap!
This week, we’re looking back at March 2025, revisiting the key case law articles that defined the month.
We begin with Caroline Brooks’ insightful piece, “Key Costs Implications from Perrett v Wolferstans LLP,” published on 6th March. Next, Nicola Smith explores the “New Court Fees from 1 April 2025,” breaking down the changes and their potential impact in her article from 13th March. On 20th March, Leigh King examined “Deductions from a Protected Party’s Damages: lessons from AKS V National Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Society Ltd,” providing valuable analysis on this crucial topic. Finally, we wrapped up the month with Amber Adam’s article, “A Peek Behind the Curtain of Agency Costs,” published on 27th March.
Key Costs Implications from Perrett v Wolferstans LLP
The recent High Court judgment in Perrett v Wolferstans LLP ([2025] EWHC 68 (SCCO)) has implications for legal costs and client retainers. The case, before Costs Judge Rowley, highlights the need for solicitors to provide clients with clear and detailed advice regarding fee agreements and any potential costs liability arising from the same.
New Court fees from 1 April 2025
As of April 2025, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) will introduce significant changes to court fees. These changes affect various court and tribunal fees, including those for civil cases, and come in the wake of inflation adjustments.
AKS -v- National Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Society Ltd [2025] EWHC 126 (SCCO) which provides an important reminder of the process that must be followed when seeking to deduct the payment of costs from a Claimant who is a protected party and confirms that the Court must assess any success fee prior to payment being taken from a protected party’s damages. In this instance, following the wrong procedure and incorrectly calculating the success fee, led to the Court finding that a significant overpayment had been made from a protected party’s damages.
A Peek behind the curtain of agency costs
The ongoing battle between Solicitors and Medical Agencies continues. Despite numerous requests for the details of the Agency uplift, some companies are still not willing to disclose this information. Could this be due to the possibility that some agencies add an uplift of almost 40%? Or is it maybe because the uplift fees include unrecoverable elements.
Stay tuned for the latest updates throughout April 2025! Cost News
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