Law digests: 2 September 2022

Costs

FDA Ann Crighton Stuart Sampson Paula O’Toole Paul Whiteman Sue Gethin v Bhardwaj [2022] EAT 97, [2022] All ER (D) 114 (Jul)

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (the EAT) ruled on the parties’ appeal against the costs orders made by the employment tribunal (the ET). The claimant had brought proceedings against her former trade union and five named individual officers, alleging unlawful race discrimination, victimisation and unjustifiable discipline by an independent trade union. Following the rejection of all her claims by the ET, she appealed to the EAT and lost. She appealed further to the Court of Appeal, Civil Division, and lost. She petitioned for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court and was refused. Until her appeals had been exhausted, an application by the respondents for costs against her, made in 2010, had been held in suspense. After her appeals were exhausted, that application for costs was revived. The ET refused three of the applications by the respondents for costs and granted one, namely the application for ‘privilege costs’ against the claimant.