The issue of costs in relation to personal injury matters remains a key debate due to ever changing goal posts and Defendants' increasingly successful challenges in relation to success fees and compliance.
Fixed success fees were introduced in all RTA cases after October 2003 of 12.5% in all cases up to £500,000 unless the matter proceeds to trial where 100% is applicable.
However the applicable rate for cases prior to this date remained in issue. In two RTA Court of Appeal cases, Atack -v- Lee and Ellerton -v- Harris, heard on 16th December 2004, Defendant Insurers were successful in their submissions to lower Claimant success fees.
In the former a 50% success fee was granted following trial with the Court commenting that there was no guarantee of 100% simply because the case went to trial.
In Ellerton a 30% success fee was reduced to 20% on appeal in a matter that settled after allocation with the Court following the standard set in Callery -v- Gray of a 'modest and straight forward case' allowing a 20% maximum fee. Solicitors must justify the grounds for setting the success fee at the time of the signing of the CFA and provisional enquiries as to the chances of success should be undertaken prior to the setting of the success fee and signing of the agreement.
These Court of Appeal decisions provide some much needed guidance on the issue of recoverable success fees in RTA matters prior to 2003 and should assist in overcoming the vast inconsistencies in permitted success fees dependant upon the County Court in which the matter is heard. |
