Costs decisions don’t always play out as expected, as Sophie Houghton, professional support lawyer in the dispute resolution team at LexisPSL, writes in this week’s NLJ
Houghton looks at two recent High Court decisions on the appropriate costs order to make following a costs management hearing.
‘In both cases, the master made clear that it should not be presumed by the parties that an order for “costs in the case” will be made following this type of hearing,’ she writes. ‘Although an order for “costs in the case” is frequently made at the end of a costs management hearing, parties may be in the habit of thinking that this will always happen, which is not the case.’
Houghton advises caution to those who might find themselves deemed ‘inappropriately ambitious’ in their calculations.
