LEGAL COSTS UPDATES

Welcome to our costs law updates UK resource. This legal costs blog provides regular analysis of the latest case law, CPR developments, and practical guidance for solicitors handling civil litigation costs issues across England and Wales. Search our comprehensive costs law updates UK covering County Court, SCCO, High Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court decisions on all costs related matters including budgeting, detailed assessment, Part 36, QOCS, and fixed recoverable costs.

Legal Costs Updates
01
Private prosecutor appeal costs decision on recovery of director time alongside legal representative fees in SCCO
No Double Recovery | Represented Party Cannot Claim Both Solicitor Fees And Director’s Time20/05/2026
A private prosecutor’s appeal costs were reduced from £45,052 to £15,000 after the court disallowed time claimed for its director alongside its legal representative, applying the principle that a represented…
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02
Commercial Court awards interim payment for foreign litigation costs incurred in breach of exclusive jurisdiction clause
Foreign Litigation Costs Recoverable As Damages For Breach Of An Exclusive Jurisdiction Clause, Assessed on the Indemnity Basis20/05/2026
The Commercial Court awarded an interim payment of damages for legal costs incurred defending Italian proceedings brought in breach of an exclusive English jurisdiction clause, assessing such costs on the…
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03
Part 36 offer genuineness in enforcement proceedings under CPR 36.17(5)(e) considered by King's Bench Division
A Near Full-Value Part 36 Offer On A Binary Recognition And Enforcement Claim Held To Be ‘Genuine’ Where The Strength Of The Claim Justified It19/05/2026
A 9% discount on a strong recognition and enforcement claim was held to be a genuine settlement offer, not a strategic device to secure indemnity costs, triggering full Part 36…
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04
Costs consequences of discontinuance under CPR 38.6 after resisting summary disposal application in High Court KB Division
CPR 38.6 | Discontinuing LiP Ordered To Pay Defendants’ Costs | Eight Arguments Dismissed | The High Bar For Displacing Costs On Discontinuance19/05/2026
A litigant in person who discontinued defamation proceedings after conceding a summary disposal application was ordered to pay the defendants’ costs on the standard basis, with the court rejecting arguments…
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05
Summary assessment in multi-day proceedings under CPR 44.3 and PD 44.9.1 in Administrative Court costs decision
No Presumption Against Summary Assessment Exists for Multi-Day Hearings | Court Retains Full Discretion In Every Case Under PD 44.9.118/05/2026
The High Court summarily assessed appeal costs at £75,000 despite the hearing lasting three days, holding there is no presumption against summary assessment following multi-day hearings and that the overriding…
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06
County Court costs decision on CPR Part 23 interim applications during provisional assessment under CPR PD 47 para 14.2(2)
The Court Retains Jurisdiction To Hear Part 23 Applications In Provisional Assessment Proceedings, But Will Ordinarily Decline To Exercise It17/05/2026
A Regional Costs Judge held that the court has jurisdiction to hear Part 23 applications within provisional assessment proceedings, but declined to exercise it where doing so would undermine the…
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07
Professional negligence costs decision applying CPR 44.2 and Halsey factors on mediation refusal in TCC proceedings
Defendant’s Mediation Refusals And Late Expert Change Of Position Insufficient To Displace The Usual Costs Order16/05/2026
A Technology and Construction Court judge ordered standard basis costs against an unsuccessful claimant in a professional negligence dispute, rejecting arguments that the defendant’s repeated refusals to mediate and its…
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08
High Court Chancery Division indemnity costs order under CPR 44.8 following abuse of contempt process for commercial pressure
Indemnity Costs Awarded After Contempt Proceedings Used As Commercial Pressure15/05/2026
The High Court ordered indemnity costs and a substantial payment on account after finding that contempt proceedings had been improperly deployed to pursue private commercial interests and that settlement correspondence…
09
High Court costs appeal under CPR 52.21 and CPR 44.2 concerning costs order against successful party in KB Division
And The Winner Is? Defendant Who Beat Both Strike Out and Summary Judgment Recovers 75% of Her Costs After 80% Costs Order Against Her Reversed on Appeal15/05/2026
The High Court allowed an appeal against a costs order requiring a successful defendant to pay 80% of the claimant’s costs of dismissed strike out and summary judgment applications, holding…
10
High Court judgment on PD 47 para 8.2(b) requirements for particularised Points of Dispute in detailed assessment
High Court Strikes Out Non-Compliant Points Of Dispute Despite Late Annotated Schedule14/05/2026
The High Court has allowed an appeal against a costs judge’s refusal to strike out defective Points of Dispute, holding that permitting reliance on a detailed schedule served two working…
11
Section 68 Arbitration Act challenge to costs award specificity under LCIA Rules in Commercial Court arbitration enforcement
Institutional Arbitration Rules May Displace Statutory Costs Specificity Requirements08/05/2026
A challenge to an arbitral costs award for failure to itemise recoverable costs failed because non-compliance with statutory specificity provisions constituted erroneous exercise of power rather than excess of power…
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12
County Court reduces CFA success fee from 25% cap to 11% in infant approval hearing applying Herbert v HH Law principles
Success Fee Reduced From 100% (£2,500) To 11% (£330) And ATE Premium Disallowed In Child Personal Injury Claim05/05/2026
A County Court judge reduced a success fee from £2,500 to £330 and disallowed an ATE premium entirely, finding inflated base costs designed to ensure the 25% damages cap was…
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13
High Court ruling on interim statute bills and value reservations under Solicitors Act 1974 section 70 time limits
Conditional Value Reservation Does Not Prevent Rendering Of Interim Statute Bills Where No Uplift Agreed28/04/2026
A High Court appeal confirmed that a solicitor’s standard reservation to charge for value or importance in a concluding bill does not prevent monthly invoices being interim statute bills where…
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14
CPR 25 security for costs application refused in detailed assessment proceedings under CPR 47 in Senior Courts Costs Office
SCCO Lacks Jurisdiction to Order Security for Costs of Detailed Assessment Proceedings26/04/2026
The Senior Courts Costs Office has no jurisdiction under CPR 25 to order security for the costs of detailed assessment proceedings, even where the receiving party was defendant to the…
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15
SCCO judgment on setting aside default costs certificates under CPR 47.12 and written agreement requirements under CPR 2.11
Default Costs Certificate Upheld Despite Variation For Irrecoverable VAT14/04/2026
The Senior Courts Costs Office refused to set aside a default costs certificate where no binding extension agreement had been reached, finding the breach serious and the reasons insufficient under…
16
Indemnity costs awarded under CPR 44.3 for libel claim used as leverage rather than adjudication in King's Bench Division
Indemnity Costs Awarded for Libel Claim Used to Pressure Anonymous Artist09/04/2026
The High Court ordered indemnity costs against a claimant who discontinued defamation proceedings that had been deployed to exploit the defendant artist’s concern to preserve anonymity, but refused a non-party…
17
SCCO ruling on contentious business agreements under s.59 Solicitors Act 1974 and interim statutory bill requirements
Engagement Letter Not A CBA Where Hourly Rate Increases Entirely At Solicitor’s Discretion09/04/2026
The Senior Courts Costs Office has determined that a retainer providing for unilateral, open-ended hourly rate increases lacked the certainty required for a contentious business agreement, and that invoices expressly…
18
Pre-Action Solicitor Costs Recoverable Where Insurer Settles Damages But Refuses Costs07/04/2026
A vehicle leasing company was entitled to recover fixed costs for instructing solicitors in a pre-action road traffic claim, even where the insurer settled damages promptly, because reasonableness—not necessity—was the…
19
SCCO decision on contractual terms permitting interim statute bills under Solicitors Act 1974 section 70 time limits
Contractual Terms Permitting Interim Statute Bills Upheld Where Unambiguous24/03/2026
Costs Judge Whalan refused detailed assessment of 27 invoices where Standard Terms of Engagement unambiguously defined interim invoices as interim statute bills, rendering them time-barred under section 70 Solicitors Act…
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20
Track allocation housing disrepair CPR 46.13 settlement sum costs restriction SCCO
Settlement Sum Not Determinative Of Track Allocation Under CPR 46.1320/03/2026
A costs judge has ruled that a £1,000 settlement figure in a tenant disrepair claim was not determinative when assessing whether costs should be restricted to Small Claims Track levels…
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21
Garden House Software Ltd v Marsh & Ors [2026] EWHC 568 (Ch)
Summary Assessment Reduced by 20% On Broad-Brush Proportionality Grounds Despite Rejecting Specific Challenges20/03/2026
A High Court judge summarily assessed costs at £70,158.64 after dismissing specific challenges to hourly rates, team composition and counsel’s fees, but applied a 20% global reduction on proportionality grounds…
22
MRO fee markup cap 25% detailed assessment personal injury Senior Courts Costs Office
Senior Costs Judge Establishes 25% Markup Cap For Medical Reporting Organisation Fees17/03/2026
The Senior Courts Costs Office has determined that Medical Reporting Organisation fees are disbursements, not outsourced solicitors’ work, rejecting the long-applied *Stringer* comparison test. A 25% markup on expert fees…
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23
Security for costs refused CPR 25.27 very high probability success excessive estimate King's Bench
Security for Costs Refused Where Claimant Shows Very High Probability of Success and Defendant’s Estimate Demonstrably Excessive15/03/2026
The King’s Bench Division refused security for costs where the claimant demonstrated a very high probability of recovering misappropriated Bitcoin, the defendant’s costs estimate was demonstrably excessive and unsustainable, and…
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24
Interpreter Fees via Related Companies | TMC Legal
Interpreter Fees Through Related Companies Require No Breakdown Absent Abuse12/03/2026
The High Court dismissed an appeal challenging assessment of interpreter fees as disbursements in fixed costs litigation, holding that no breakdown was required to separate alleged agency elements where services…
25
Late Acceptance of Part 36 Offer | Fixed Costs Apply at Relevant Period Expiry Despite Later Multi-Track Allocation09/03/2026
The Court of Appeal has clarified that a claimant who accepts a Part 36 offer late in an ex-Protocol claim is restricted to fixed costs applicable when the offer’s relevant…
26
IPEC scale costs transfer Patents Court PD 30 para 9.2 costs caps Court of Appeal
Court of Appeal Limits Pre-Transfer Costs To IPEC Scale Where No Good Reason to Depart From Transferring Judge’s Indication27/02/2026
Where proceedings are transferred from IPEC to the Patents Court, a transferring judge’s indication that pre-transfer costs should be assessed on the IPEC scale carries significant weight and should only…
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27
Costs budget variation CPR 3.15A promptness significant development unfair prejudice Chancery Division
Promptness Matters | The Peril Of Delay | Three-Year Wait To Revise Costs Budget Proves Fatal Under CPR 3.15A22/02/2026
A three-year delay in submitting revised costs budgets proved fatal to the majority of claimed variations, despite the court accepting that significant developments had occurred across multiple phases of the…
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28
Costs budgeting inter partes proportionality high hourly rates AI disclosure Patents Court CPR 3E
High Hourly Rates Do Not Of Themselves Render Budgeted Costs Disproportionate | Costs Budgeting In Parsons v Convatec22/02/2026
The Patents Court’s costs budgeting decision examines how courts should treat premium-rate solicitors’ fees on an inter partes basis, rejects general assertions that AI should reduce litigation costs, and confirms…
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29
Beneficiary personal liability section 71(3) Solicitors Act 1974 indemnity costs VAT self-supply SCCO
s71(3) | Beneficiaries Who Pursued Unreasonable Solicitors Act Assessments Bear the Costs Personally22/02/2026
An indemnity costs order of £132,400 against beneficiaries who achieved a bill reduction of under £18,000 demonstrates the acute costs risks of unreasonable conduct in third-party assessments.
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30
Summary assessment indemnity costs unless order payment on account disclosure default Chancery Division
Summary Assessment Without Opposition | Court Applies Independent Scrutiny to Unopposed Costs Claims21/02/2026
An unopposed costs claim is not an unscrutinised one. The court retains an independent supervisory role on summary assessment regardless of whether the paying party engages.
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