Like most in the costs world we were glued to YouTube (I know, very modern) eagerly anticipating a resolution to a case which has been rumbling on since 2020. Unfortunately, this did not come to fruition.
On the first day of the hearing, substantial arguments arose as to the definition of contentious business for the purpose of the Solicitors Act 1974. Lord Just Vos suggested that work done under the pre-action protocol was contentious business – these arguments took up the majority of the first day.
In returning for the second day and considering the issues of the first day, Vos LJ stated that the ramifications of the case were “more profound than (what they) appeared at the start of the case” and as a result, the Court did not believe sufficient time was available for arguments to be heard.
Vos LJ went on to say that “If it is a non-contentious space, so called, then we need to understand the ramifications of that”.
The hearing has now been re-listed for two days starting on 31 July 2022.
Watch this space…
For more information, contact Karl Robson here