Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Court of Appeal: no presumption that third‑party costs applications precede detailed assessment; stay is case management; robust endorsement of proportionality and sampling (England and Wales)

Published on: 23 March 2026

Published by a LexisNexis Dispute Resolution expert

Legal News

Article summary

Federal Republic of Nigeria v VR Global Partners LP and others [2026] EWCA Civ 25

What are the practical implications of this case?

For costs practitioners, this judgment offers vital direction on the interplay between detailed assessment and third-party costs applications. First, it confirms there is no legal hierarchy between these processes—contrary to arguments that a judgment creditor enjoys a presumptive right to chase third parties straightaway. The ruling empowers costs judges and Commercial Court judges to stay third-party applications where the sum ultimately payable is genuinely uncertain, particularly where a substantial payment on account has been made and the costs are to be assessed on the standard basis with its proportionality filter. Second, and more significantly, the Court of Appeal issued a stark warning against disproportionate conduct of detailed assessments. The court was dismayed by the prospect of a 50-day assessment hearing involving millions in costs, describing it as the worst kind of satellite litigation that prejudices other court users. Practitioners should note the emphatic approval of ‘sampling’ as a proper case management tool—the court suggested each party could choose sample items for argument and assessment, with percentage reductions then applied to...

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