Court of Appeal decision on solicitors' retainers
The Court of Appeal has overturned the decisions of two lower courts, in ruling that a firm of solicitors was entitled to terminate their retainer with a client who had insisted that they advance "unarguable" points of law before the Court.
In reaching its decision in the case of Buxton v Mills-Owen [2008] EWHC 1831 (QB), the Court of Appeal took into account the fact that, pursuant to CPR 1.1, the overriding objective would not be furthered by litigants advancing hopeless arguments.
The Court also held that the appellant solicitors were entitled to be paid all fees incurred up to the date on which they had terminated their client's retainer.
A complete version of the judgment can be viewed at the following link: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2010/122.html
Article from Post Magazine
For Post Magazine's comments on Fenchurch Law opening our doors, please click on the following link: http://www.postonline.co.uk/post/news/1593348/fenchurch-temple-tie
Our thoughts on the Jackson review
Lord Justice Jackson's review of litigation costs has two interrelated, but distinct strands. Firstly, he makes recommendations which are aimed at reducing the cost of the litigation process overall. Secondly, he makes recommendations which are aimed at shifting the burden of what costs remain from one place to another.
The first strand (reducing costs overall) is in the interests of both claimants and defendants, and Lord Justice Jackson's recommendations should be welcomed by everyone involved in the dispute resolution process. However, Lord Justice Jackson's approach to the second strand (shifting the burden of what costs remain) is, in our view, of real concern.
At present, the cost of litigation is borne primarily by defendants whose actions have caused others (successful claimants) to suffer loss. Many of Lord Justice Jackson's recommendations will, if implemented in their current form, have the effect of shifting the costs burden from (unsuccessful) defendants to (successful) claimants.
The difficulty with this approach is that many defendants (employers, professional advisers, property owners etc) are able to spread the cost of any claims which they may face by insuring against them. In this respect, the defendants "stand together". Claimants, on the other hand, "stand alone", as we do not, in this country, have a viable market for allowing potential claimants (i.e. all members of the public) to insure against the risk of suffering a loss due to someone else's actions, and having to incur the cost of pursuing a claim. As a result, whereas defendants are, in many cases, able to spread the cost of becoming involved in a dispute, claimants are unable to do so.
Unless commercially appropriate "before the event" insurance becomes widely available, the only way to spread the costs of the litigation process in a way that is financially manageable for those involved, is for those costs to be borne primarily by those who are able to stand together, as opposed to those who necessarily stand alone.
For these reasons, it is our view that the recommendations from the Jackson report which are aimed at shifting costs from one place to another are socially undesirable, and should be opposed.
Financial Services Bill progress
The Financial Services Bill is due to receive its second reading in the House of Lords (when all aspects of the bill will be debated) on 23.02.2010. In its current form the Government bill, which has so far remained intact throughout its progress through the House of Commons, proposes to allow consumers to join together to bring claims against FSA-regulated professionals (such as financial advisers and insurance brokers) in cases where there has been a mass failure of practice which has affected significant numbers of consumers. If the proposals become law, they will reduce the cost to consumers of making claims against financial services professionals which arise out of endemic (as opposed to "on-off") mistakes or bad advice.
We'll be tracking the progress of the bill until it receives Royal Assent on the Fenchurch Law twitter feed.
Fenchurch Law twitter feed
The Fenchurch Law twitter feed is now live! From now on, we'll be tweeting daily, helping to keep you up to date on new developments in the law relating to professionals and insurance. We'll be highlighting key cases and changes to the CPR, and we'll also be keeping tabs on ongoing processes such as the Law Commissions' review of insurance contract law, and the follow-ups to Lord Justice Jackson's report on costs.