Costs rules: what you need to know

“No one enters litigation simply expecting a blank cheque.” Francis J in WG v HG [2018] EWFC 84. 

But is this the case or are we experiencing a new wave of litigants chancing their luck at the roulette wheel?

Costs in financial remedy proceedings have come increasingly under the spotlight in recent years most recently highlighted in some interesting and important commentary by Mostyn J Francis J and Cohen J as to the manner in which litigation is conducted.

No doubt driven (at least in part) by the publicity grabbing headlines of parties spending a vast proportion of their total wealth on legal fees legal practitioners will already be well aware of the amendments to paragraph 4.4 of FPR Practice Direction 28A in April 2019 which state:-

“In considering the conduct of the parties…the court will have regard to the obligation of the parties to help the court to further the overriding objective…and will take into account the nature importance and complexity of the issues in the case. This may be of particular significance in applications for variation orders and interim variation orders or other...

Read the full article here.