Hogan joins Kings Chambers
Well-known costs counsel Andrew Hogan has joined Kings Chambers as it continues to bolster its costs and funding team. He moves from Ropewalk Chambers in Nottingham.
Mr Hogan said: “I have known and respected the members of the costs team here for many years as consummate professionals in their field and look forward to maintaining and increasing my work in the fields of costs and litigation funding as part of a very strong team. I will also continue my work in credit hire litigation and serious personal injury litigation, which I have practised for over 20 years.”
Another barrister familiar to ACL members, Gordon Exall, joined Kings Chambers late last year.
Injured man who exaggerated claim docked 15% of costs
A seriously injured claimant who made an exaggerated claim for damages – but was not dishonest – has seen his costs reduced by 15%.
Mrs Justice Farbey said that in a case where exaggeration was “engrained” – as she found it had been here – she gave “considerable weight” to it under CPR 2(5)(d).
In Morrow v Shrewsbury Rugby Union Football Club [2020] EWHC 999 (QB), Mr Morrow was struck on the head by a collapsing rugby post while watching his son play. He was awarded £286,000, beating the defendant’s £110,000 part 36 offer from June 2018.
By making an exaggerated claim, he prolonged the trial and increased its costs, the judge found.
At the same time, the defendant’s part 36 offer “represented an assessment of the value of the case which I rejected”, while the defendant chose to contest almost every allegation and almost every issue relating to quantum.
“In my judgment, a deduction of 15% is broadly appropriate to mark the additional costs caused by the claimant’s exaggerated case. A higher deduction would in my judgment begin to make inroads into areas in which both the claimant and the defendant overstated their respective cases.”
As it was a seven-day trial with multiple witnesses, the costs were “bound to be high enough that a 15% reduction will be meaningful” and act as a deterrent to others, she concluded.
A close shave for Ayliffe
Costs Lawyer Tracyanne Ayliffe, leader of Irwin Mitchell’s Manchester costs team, is to shave her head (to a number 1) to support the office’s charity of the year, Mancunian Way, a street-based outreach programme for young people in the city.
She had a target of raising £250 first but, at the time of writing, has already received pledges of over £700. She will do it over the next bank holiday weekend. Click here to donate.