New Cost Budgeting Rules Start today!
If you are a Civil Litigation professional, you MUST read this as the Cost Budgeting rules change today 1st October 2020.
Previously we have had three main sources for the Cost Budgeting rules, CPR 3.12 – 3.18, Practice Direction 3E and the Guidance Notes. Although I have also said that the Guidance Notes have been as useful as a chocolate tea pot?
From the 1st of October the Guidance Notes have gone, and all the rules are now included in the expended Practice Direction. So you now only need to look at the CPR 3.12 – 3.18 and the new Practice direction 3E
The GREAT news is we also get another Precedent!!! We have always had the Precedent H (Cost Budget), then later we got the Precedent R (Budget Discussion Document), now a little like “ the return of the Jedi” we have a third, the Precedent T.
The Precedent T is annexed to the new Practice Direction and is to be used in the event of a budget variation in accordance with rule 3.15A. Similarly, to the other Precedents it takes the form of a prescribed spreadsheet and supporting pages. As with the Precedent H it also comes with its own Statement of Truth.
“I certify that the costs and disbursements included in this variation are not included in any various budgeted costs or variation (including any contingency), whether agreed or approved by the court”
Unfortunately, I see thousands of pounds of lost profit costs on files every day. Fee earners still don’t have a reliable system of budget review. Budget overruns happen all the time and amending budgets rarely happen successfully. Unless we are involved.
This is a change you cannot ignore; you MUST read the new rules and familiarise yourself with the new Precedent.
My team at PIC, Partners in Costs advise Clinical Negligence and Catastrophic PI Lawyers on amending budgets every week. These new changes although formalise the process, also add a layer on complication. Don’t fall fowl of the new rules or form. Please get in touch for help.
Reuben Glynn, Managing Director at PIC
01.10.20