Fixed costs (fast track and beyond?) June 17, 2009
Posted by Richard Moorhead in : Costs, Jackson Review , trackbackLord Justice Jackson is plainly interested in extending fixed costs beyond the predictable costs regime for RTA cases settling pre-issue for less than £10,000 for both base costs and success fees. Para 1.1 of Part V, page 203 reads: “I have canvassed views from my panel of assessors and it is our unanimous view that we should take forward this work and try to achieve a fixed costs system in fast track cases.”
Detailed matrices have been developed with the assistance of data analysed by Professor Paul Fenn (see page 205 in particular). The matrices provide for
- Base fees based on the type of case (RTA, employer’s liability, public liability with different fees for cases with ‘additional work factors’ meaning those cases where there is a need for supplementary expert evidence. Base fees alter depending on which stage the case settles at (pre-issue; pre-allocation; prelisting; postlisting)
- Plus a fee based on a percentage of the damages (which ranges between 4% and 23%)
- There are reductions in fixed costs for an early admission of liability, that is an omission within the preaction protocol period.
Fees range from:
- as low as £626 + 4% (this fee might dip lower with an early admission of liability) for a non-PI RTA worth over £5,000; to as high as,
- £5,544 plus 17% of damages for an employers liability case settling post-listing or £3,621 plus 23% of damages for an RTA involving PI also settling post-listing.
The matrices are examples and Jackson is clearly still willing to consult on the principles and the detail. It is also recognised that there would need to be suitable mechanisms for exceptional cases.
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