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Claimant's Application for Unreasonable Conduct Costs
The Claimant pursued a claim for special damages in the sum of
£662.05 against the Defendant following a road traffic accident on
the 24th May 2001. Liability was in dispute. On the 10th January
2003, the Claimant's solicitors made a without prejudice offer to
the Defendant's insurers to settle the claim. This was ignored. The
Claimant issued proceedings on the 14th April 2003, which were
served on the Defendant and went unanswered. The Claimant's
solicitors requested interlocutory judgement for damages to be
assessed which was entered on the 2nd May 2003. By letter dated 6th
May 2003, the Claimant's solicitors sent a copy of the
Interlocutory Judgement to the Defendant's insurers. The
Defendant's insurers settled the claim.
On the 28th May 2003 the Claimant's solicitors requested payment
of their costs. The Defendant's insurers refused. The Claimant's
solicitors issued an application against the Defendant pursuant to
CPR 27.14(2)(d) for unreasonable conduct costs on the basis that
the Defendant settled the Claimant's claim following issue of
proceedings when there was no material change in circumstances. The
Defendant opposed the Application on the basis that the District
Judge could only award unreasonable conduct costs where the claim
had been allocated to track. The claim had never been allocated and
the Court could not treat the hearing as a disposal hearing on the
grounds that the case had already been compromised. The hearing was
an Application hearing for costs, not a disposal hearing and could
not be allocated at that stage.
HELD: - The District Judge agreed that he could not allocate the
claim at that stage. The claim had already been compromised and he
could only deal with the Claimant's Application if he allocated the
claim to the Small Claims Track. Application dismissed with
Defendant's costs of the Application summarily assessed and ordered
to be paid by the Claimant.