Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

England and Wales: QOCS in mixed personal injury claims—no automatic protection; CPR 44.16(2)(b) discretion affirmed; PD 44 para 12.6 rejected (Brown v Metropolitan Police, CA)

Published on: 24 October 2019

Published by a LexisNexis PI & Clinical Negligence expert

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Article summary

Brown v Metropolitan Police Commissioner and another (Equality and Human Rights Commission intervening) [2019] EWCA Civ 1724, [2019] All ER (D) 124 (Oct)

What are the practical implications of the judgment?

The meaning of the CPR 44 QOCS regime is now fixed: in mixed claims a trial judge may invoke the discretion in CPR 44.16(2)(b), and the mere presence of a personal injury head will not secure automatic costs protection. Permission to appeal to the Supreme Court was refused. Any further challenge is improbable, as the Court of Appeal—anticipating that prospect—went beyond what was strictly required to dispose of the appeal (see paras [60]–[70]), addressing access to justice, certainty and deterrent effect. A renewed appeal is also unlikely since, given the fact-sensitive, case-by-case nature of the discretion, it is difficult to see how the Court of Appeal’s guidance could be refined or improved in any meaningful way. The Court of Appeal provided only limited guidance on how the exception or discretion under CPR 44.16(2)(b) might be applied. A cost-neutral outcome may follow, but the discretion must be exercised in a fair...

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