Children
Pringle v Nervo [2026] EWCA Civ 266
The Court of Appeal allowed the appellant father’s appeal against a costs order made in private law Children Act 1989 proceedings. The judge below had ordered him to pay 75% of the respondent mother’s costs. The court reaffirmed that a costs order in children cases is only appropriate where a party’s conduct has been reprehensible or unreasonable. The court found that threshold was not met. The judge had erred by failing to consider the conduct of both parties; by treating four procedural matters—such as late withdrawal of the applications and non‑attendance at hearings—as amounting to unreasonable conduct when they did not; and by misapplying CPR 44.4(3) by treating factors relevant to the decision whether to make any order for costs as matters going only to mitigation. Once the mother’s litigation conduct was properly taken into account, there was no justification for departing from the general rule that there should be no order for costs in children proceedings.
Costs
Parsons v Convatec Ltd [2026]
