Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

High Court upholds wasted costs order for CPR breaches over non-English client; guidance on proportionality and evidence—Rainer Hughes v Liverpool Victoria [2024] EWHC 585 (KB)

Published on: 22 March 2024

Published by a LexisNexis PI & Clinical Negligence expert

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Article summary

Rainer Hughes Solicitors v Liverpool Victoria Insurance Company Ltd and others [2024] EWHC 585 (KB) What are the practical implications of this case?

Firstly, strict observance of CPR 32 and the requirements for documents where English is not the first language is critical at each and every procedural stage (see Correia v Williams [2022] EWHC 2824 (KB) and Afzal v UK Insurance Ltd [2023] EWHC 1730 (KB)). In this matter, the solicitors should have appreciated from the very start that their client was not proficient in English and, without statements carefully prepared and accurately translated, the result was plainly disastrous. Secondly, when wasted costs are pursued, consider whether the sums sought are eclipsed by the expense of dealing with the application itself, through the process as a whole. Any proportionality arguments ought to be raised at the earliest opportunity. To assist the court in assessing proportionality, the High Court indicated that where a ‘show cause’ order is made (as opposed to a Part 23 wasted costs application), it is desirable to follow paragraph 5.9 of Practice Direction 46 and identify (a) what the legal representative is said to have done or failed to do and (b) the costs that they...

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