Successful non-party costs orders against credit hire operators are swelling in number: Sarah Jane Cartlidge considers whether these are just a drop in the ocean
- 2023-24 has seen a number of persuasive or binding cases where the courts considered it just to make a non-party costs order against a credit hire operator.
- The hire companies involved in the cases were considered to be the real beneficiaries of the credit hire claim and were intrinsically linked to the litigation.
- There was no requirement to prove a link between the hire company’s involvement in the litigation and the costs incurred.
In 2023-24, there has been a number of high-profile cases where defendants have been successful in obtaining non-party costs orders (NPCOs) against credit hire operators (CHOs) in cases where credit hire is claimed, and the defendants had obtained a costs order which the claimant themselves had not been able to discharge.
Is this a turn in the tide? Are these cases gamechangers in sending a message
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