2020 has been a year which has seen a number of changes to the way we live and work. Certainly, earlier in the year the main change felt by many was the impact the pandemic had on our daily lives. However, in October 2020 a significant change came into force that would affect the majority of litigators. This was through the introduction of the Precedent T.
Prior to its introduction I prepared an in-depth rundown of the new rules and the contents of the Precedent T which can be found here.
I also prepared a list of helpful Q&As which can be found here.
One other interesting amendment occurred when CPR 3 and CPR PD 3E were updated. Previously, the following was in place:
CPR PD 3E para 7.4 – “As part of the costs management process the court may not approve costs incurred up to and including the date of the costs management hearing. The court may, however, record its comments on those costs and will take those costs into account when considering the reasonableness and proportionality of all budgeted costs.”
The new rule is contained within the CPR proper:
CPR 3.17
(3) Subject to rule 3.15A, the court—
(a) may not approve costs incurred before the date of any costs management hearing; but
(b) may record its comments on those costs and take those costs into account when considering the reasonableness and proportionality of all budgeted costs.
This change now has shifted the ‘line in the sand’ once again. It further poses the question of where the costs of the CCMC Hearing should be placed. From the wording of the new rule it appears clear that the costs of attending the CCMC Hearing should now be treated as ‘budgeted costs’ and not to be included within the incurred section of the cost budget. Whilst this is helpful for the preparation of future cost budgets it may have an impact on the preparation of bills of costs which have already had a costs management order made on them. At Paramount Legal Costs we have extensive experience of preparing bills of costs which are subject to costs management orders and are able to offer assistance and practical advice to maximise your costs recovery.
For further information, please contact Kris Kilsby here.