Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Contingent or success-related expert fee arrangements before the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber): disclosure duties, independence and RICS conflicts in Gardiner & Theobald LLP v Jackson (VO) [2018] UKUT 253 (LC)

Published on: 07 September 2018

Published by a LexisNexis Property Disputes expert

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Article summary

Upper Tribunal considers experts acting under success-related fees (Gardiner & Theobald LLP v Jackson (VO))

Gardiner & Theobald LLP v Jackson (VO) [2018] UKUT 253 (LC)

What was the background?

The UTLC President characterised the ruling as addressing significant questions of principle about the proper conduct of experts. In essence, it examined the effect of success‑linked remuneration and the circumstances in which such arrangements might be regarded as acceptable. The tribunal adopted a notably broad stance on experts’ obligations where success‑related fees arise, prompting unease among expert witnesses and their employers. Although the dispute was a rating matter, the tribunal made it clear that its observations were equally applicable in compensation cases. The panel presented its guidance as having wider application across comparable proceedings in both forums.

Fee arrangements in the case

The surveying practice had undertaken all rating work for Gardiner & Theobald LLP under a conditional fee deal — a ‘no win, no fee’ model — entitling it to a share of any achieved savings. Expert evidence duties were to be remunerated separately; however, critically, the firm still qualified for the uplift if the proceedings delivered savings for the client.

What did the UTLC decide?

Permissibility of the...

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