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Home Page for Sarah Robson - Costs Barrister - The Original Black Belt Barrister - Specialist in Fixed Costs. Ranked as a Leading Junior for Costs in the Legal 500. Sarah Robson Black Belt Barrister (4th Dan) 2002 Call BREAKING Mazur overturned on appeal. Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys LLP & Ors [2026] EWCA Civ 369 Court of Appeal judgment here Article here You can still play Mazur's Run & Gun - click here Legal 500 Sarah Robson has been ranked in the 2026 Legal 500 as a Leading Junior for Costs . Leading juniors are those with significant experience of key cases, strong market recognition from both peers and clients, and are seen as future candidates for silk. "Sarah is clearly a leading expert in the world of fixed costs disputes. She has an encyclopaedic knowledge of costs. Incredibly thorough, strategic, and always well-prepared. A fearless and tenacious barrister." Search the site here: Black Belt Barrister Sarah Robson is the original "Black Belt Barrister." By day she is a Fixed Costs specialist. By night, she can be found at the local Dojang, practising her Dark Arts, aka Taekwondo. Sarah attends Detailed Assessments, Oral Reviews, Preliminary Costs Hearings, CCMCs, Appeals, Fast and Multi-Track matters. She is THE go-to barrister for anything to do with Fixed costs. As well as being an excellent advocate in court, she is also happy to advise, particularly on technical points and procedural tactics. Sarah represents both Claimants and Defendants - she feels working for both sides gives her a better understanding of how the other side are likely to run a case. Sarah Robson East Midlands based Costs Specialist Sarah Robson is part of Alpha Court Chambers based in Warwickshire, home of Warwick Castle. Where? Sarah Robson appears in the SCCO, as well as High Courts and County Courts across much of Central England and Wales. She covers from Leeds to London, Cardiff to Norwich - Nationwide for remote hearings - or on request for in person. Usual Operating Area Fixed Costs Specialist Sarah Robson is a specialist costs barrister with a strong reputation in court. Sarah is known for her thorough preparation, and for providing detailed and practical advice. Solicitors often comment how they have never seen counsel so well prepared. Sarah is the top counsel for cases concerning Fixed Costs. Speaking Engagements Sarah speaks around the country and on video on fixed costs. Sarah is a popular and engaging speaker. She is not phased by addressing large audiences. She can also be persuaded to provide a Taekwondo demonstration, and has been surprised by the eagerness of the judiciary to have a go too! Sarah speaks to both Claimant and Defendant audiences, and to professional and lay clients. Please email to find out about her speaking availability. Service Sarah Robson does not have a clerk - she does not need one. Once clients have seen how Sarah works and how good she is they keep coming back! Solicitors can talk directly to Sarah when they book a case and often benefit from discussing the case with her at that point. There is usually time then to take steps to strengthen your case, whereas where a clerk has taken the booking it is often too late by the time counsel receive papers for a hearing. It is not unusual for cases to settle once the other side hear that Sarah Robson is the barrister on your side. Reputation Sarah is an experienced advocate with a strong reputation in court. Sarah is known for her thorough preparation, and for providing detailed and practical advice. Solicitors often comment how they have never seen counsel so well prepared. Sarah is the top counsel for cases concerning fixed costs. Awards and Scholarships Sarah was awarded the London University Prize for Distinguished Exam Performance in her LLB (Hons) (1999) Sarah received a major award from the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple for her Bar School year (2001) Sarah received a major award from her Bar School, the University of the West of England (2001) Original Black Belt Barrister Sarah is the original Black Belt Barrister. She is a current practicing 4th degree black belt in Tae kwon do, a fully qualified Tae kwon do instructor and referee. She is registered with the British Taekwondo Council. She regularly judges Tae kwon do competitions at both local and national level. Bar Standards Board Sarah Robson is a barrister regulated by the Bar Standards Board (BSB). She is governed by the Bar Standards Board Code of Conduct. The Barristers' Register shows (1) who has a current practising certificate, and (2) whether a barrister has any disciplinary findings, which are published on the Barristers’ Register in accordance with the BSB’s policy. Contractual Terms All work is carried out under COMBAR's standard terms and conditions, payment option A. These can be found her e . These terms will apply to all instructions and briefs accepted from solicitors and other authorised persons unless other terms have been agreed in writing. Instruction Sarah aims to make the process of instructing her straight-forward. She understand the need to be flexible and to work together as a team to provide practical solutions. If you would like to instruct her please call or email direct. Please do not supply details about the case before checking if she is conflicted. Work in England and Wales Sarah accepts instructions from: Solicitors, other authorised litigators, employed barristers and legal advice centres in England & Wales European lawyers registered with the Law Society and qualified lawyers from other jurisdictions Licensed professionals in the UK under the Licensed Access scheme Please note Sarah is not Direct Access Qualified . Members of the public should seek a solicitor. Fees/Timescales Sarah is happy to discuss fees, which are usually based on her hourly/daily rate, and agree a fixed fee, which will vary depending on the work required. These fees are likely to be higher if your case is particularly complex or urgent. A fixed fee means she will charge you a set amount of money for the work required. She will need to agree a fee in advance for each piece of work going forward. She is willing to provide quotations or estimates of fees and a timetable for completing work. Fee quotations or estimates will usually be based on hourly/daily rates. She can also in some circumstances offer a fixed or capped fee for drafting or a hearing. For trials will be provide an estimate of a brief fee and where appropriate, a refresher rate. Fees may be structured in a way to suit the client, for instance charging agreed fees for preparation of a skeleton argument, for general preparation, and for attendance at court. Timescales Timescales for completion of work can depend on a number of factors, examples being: availability of Counsel and or client; complexity of the matter; and number of papers involved; and will obviously be affected by the volume of other work being undertaken. For instance if counsel is engaged in a two-week trial it may not be possible to complete work within the usual timescale. As a guide, she would normally expect to complete paperwork within three weeks unless external factors (which will be explained at the outset) prevent this. As regards court work, much depends on the timetables provided by the courts, over which she has no control, and the need to comply with court prescribed timetables. Work required to comply with these timetables has to take priority over other work. Complaints A copy of Chambers' Complaints policy can be found by clicking the above link . If you are unhappy with the response to your complaint, or if you receive no final response within eight weeks and you fall within their jurisdiction you may take up your complaint with the Legal Ombudsman, the independent complaints body for complaints about lawyers. The Ombudsman is not able to consider your complaint until it has first been investigated by Chambers. Please note that You must complain to the Legal Ombudsman either within six years of your barrister’s actions/failure to act, or no later than three years after you should reasonably have known there were grounds to complain. You must also complain to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving your barrister’s final response to your complaint.” You can write to them at: Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ Telephone number: 0300 555 0333 Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk More information about the Legal Ombudsman is available on their website : http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/ The Ombudsman’s website of decisions during the last 12 months, showing against whom the Ombudsman has made any ruling, or any decision requiring a remedy, is available at Ombudsman decision data | Legal Ombudsman Not afraid of difficult cases Why not call and ask to speak to Sarah to find out what she can do for you? That case you hate in the bottom of your cupboard, we know it's there. Sarah can help. Contact Sarah Robson Sarah spoke at the ACL Costs Conference in Manchester on "Black Belt Court Craft". She ended the entertaining talk with a board break. Kevin Latham was not injured in the making of this talk.

Legal Articles by Sarah Robson Barrister Fixed Costs Specialist Including the new Precdent U for download, and the SCCO Guide 2023 as well as further details on Bobby Prior v Silverline International Ltd, HHJ Wood QC. 8th July 2015. Legal Articles* * This website is intended to provide general guidance only. It does not give legal or professional and is not to be used in providing the same. Whilst all efforts have been made to ensure that the information is accurate, any liability including that arising in is excluded to the fullest extent lawfully permitted for any loss or damage howsoever arising from the use of this information. Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys LLP & Ors [2026] EWCA Civ 369 The Court of Appeal judgment can be found here . Mazur isn’t about paralegals - it’s about responsibility The Court of Appeal’s decision has already generated a predictable wave of commentary along the lines of “paralegals can now conduct litigation”. That’s catchy, but it misses the real point - and, more importantly, it misses what actually matters for lay clients. The real shift: from who did the task to who owns the case. Mazur is not really about whether a paralegal can press the “issue claim” button. That was never the right question. The Court of Appeal reframed the issue in a much more practical way: Litigation is “conducted” by the person who has control and responsibility for it - not necessarily the person who physically carries out each step. That reflects the reality of modern legal practice. Cases are not run by a single pair of hands. They are systems, teams, workflows. What Mazur confirms is that the law recognises that reality. For lay clients, that leads to a much more useful question: Who is actually responsible for my case? Because that is where the legal accountability sits. Why this matters in practice From a lay client’s perspective, Mazur has three important consequences. 1. You are not “getting less lawyer” because others are involved Many clients worry when they learn that parts of their case are handled by junior staff. Mazur confirms that this is not a dilution of legal responsibility. If the case is properly structured: the solicitor remains fully responsible, and the work of others is done under that umbrella of responsibility. So the question is not whether a paralegal drafted a document. The question is whether there is a properly accountable solicitor behind it. 2. Systems matter more than signatures Before Mazur, some arguments (particularly in technical challenges) focused on whether a solicitor had personally approved a specific step. The Court of Appeal rejected that approach. It recognised that: litigation is often run through structured systems, not ad hoc approvals; and supervision can be ongoing and systemic, not just a tick before each action. For clients, this means a well-run firm should be judged by: the quality of its processes, and the clarity of responsibility - not by whether every individual action has a visible sign-off. 3. Where things go wrong, responsibility is still clear Mazur does not loosen accountability. If anything, it sharpens it. If a case is mishandled: the firm cannot point to a junior staff member and say “it wasn’t us”; Responsibility remains with the authorised lawyer and the firm. That is important protection for lay clients. Delegation does not dilute liability. A point that has been largely missed Much of the early commentary treats Mazur as a decision about what is allowed. That is only half the story. The more significant aspect is what the Court rejected: the idea that every step of litigation must be personally “owned” in a hands-on way by a solicitor at the moment it is taken. If that had been correct, large parts of modern litigation practice would have been operating unlawfully for years. The Court of Appeal was plainly unwilling to endorse that conclusion. Instead, it endorsed something more realistic: responsibility can be exercised through supervision and structure, not just through direct personal action. That is a far more workable model - and one that matches with how cases are actually run. You can still play #MazurMadness here precedent-u (2) Precedent U Precedent U has been updated for assessement of fixed costs under the new regime. Download version 2 here. Premature Issue Article on the case of Bobby Prior v Silverline International Ltd, HHJ Wood QC, Liverpool CC, 8th July 2015 now available. Claimant issue proceedings after 21 days in accordance with the letter of the personal injury pre-action protocol. However, there was no compliance with the spirit of the protocol. The Claimant was reduced to pre-issue costs by the Designated Circuit Judge of Liverpool. Click here for article including copy of the judgment. Legal Humour A light-heartedly look at the law and legal profession. (Submissions for inclusion here gratefully received.) A poor solicitor can cause a trial to be delayed for months. A good solicitor can cause a trial to be delayed for years. Caveat : No lawyers were harmed during the construction of this site. When a person assists a criminal they are aiding and abetting. When a person assists a criminal we call them a defence lawyer. The pupil barrister carefully warned his client not to lie when giving evidence. He asked if his client appreciated what could happen if he did not tell the truth in court. "We'll probably win" his client replied. Why did the lawyer cross the road? To sue the chicken. What's the difference between a good lawyer and a great lawyer? A good lawyer knows the law, a great lawyer knows the judge. Never mind the dog - Beware of the dog's lawyer. When does a claim start? Sarah has again successfully argued a claim does not start for the purposes of Part 7 until the court issues the claim. A claim which settles before the court has issued it only attracts predictive costs, per CPR 7.2, PD 7A 5.1 and CPR 44.12A (c), even if the papers have been sent to the court. SCCO Guide 2023 The latest SCCO guide is now out. Click here for a copy. What is the nature of a Provisional Assessment Oral Review? Is an Oral Review just a review, a rehearing, or is it more like an appeal where parties are limited to what they raised in the Provisional Assessment hearing? Cook on Costs has one line stating the court will hear issues 'afresh'. Dr Mark Friston confirms the same view in Friston on Costs 3rd Edition. HHJ Wood QC, the DCJ at Liverpool has considered this on appeal twice and has concluded that new evidence can be admitted on oral review. Download copies of the judgments here in the cases of: Ion v Ahmed , and Mehmi v Pincher. However, more recently he has reversed himself, finding that you cannot adduce new evidence at Oral Review. Keeps us on our toes, I suppose! Provisional Assessment Oral Review In order to recover the costs of an oral review of a Provisional assessment, CPR 47.15(10) requires the applicant to obtain an adjustment in its own favour by 20% or more of the sum provisionally assessed. Is that just the items reviewed or 20% of the whole bill? This issue was considered by Master O'Hare in Keah M B O'Reilly v H R Richmond Ltd, SCCO, 16.09.14. The court confirmed it was 20% of the whole bill, not just the part(s) being reviewed. The court was also invited to use its discretion under CPR 47.15(1)(b) because of the adjustment of more than 20% achieved on the items reviewed, but declined to do so. Click here for an approved note of the judgment. Miscellaneous Expenses A lot of fuss and bother over nothing? Ghattaorya v Bailey LTLPI 05/10/2009 My case of Ghattaorya v Bailey on miscellaneous expenses is years old, yet it still attracts vast numbers of hits on my site. One cannot its importance when Part 36 offers are close, and thousands of pounds in costs can turn on whether this is allowed or disallowed. Do not ignore miscellaneous expenses! Claimant solicitors plead ‘miscellaneous’ expenses as an almost mandatory ‘add-on.’ This is to cover the cost of subsidiary expenses which have been incurred because of the litigation. Whilst it is that you cannot recover stress and anguish incurred because of litigation, the miscellaneous claim seems to have slipped through the net as a legitimate expense. This head of deserves closer inspection: The miscellaneous claim is for telephone calls, postage and stationary - travel is usually claimed for separately. Miscellaneous claims in your average fast track case typically range from about £10 to £50.There may have been the cost of posting an initial form reporting the incident to the insurer or solicitor, perhaps with a covering letter. However, many insurance companies take a claim over the phone now, rather than requiring the completion of a form, or provide a pre-paid envelope. The postage, therefore, is probably no more than one or two stamps. The cost of stationery – well everything is done by email now. Many insurance companies and solicitors firms provide free-phone numbers or call numbers, e.g. 0845. Most mobile phone packages now include unlimited phone calls. Put the claimant to proof and a judge will laugh at you, as there are hardly ever any receipts for these sorts of expenses. Cross-examine, and you risk the wrath of the judge and a stop being placed on cross-examination thus deemed ‘unnecessary’. Most sensible Counsel (with sensible instructions) will get their heads together before trial and some compromise figure. In this case, the judge dismissed the entire head of claim for miscellaneous expenses, noting that claiming for miscellaneous expenses was ‘a bad habit claimant solicitors had got into’. That principle was approved by HHJ Harrington in Harwood v Kapek (2010) LTLPI 21/7/2010 citing the failure to correctly plead the losses under this head as the reason for not allowing a miscellaneous claim, Ghattaorya v Bailey approved. There are a few (easier to spell) other cases on miscellaneous expenses, but Ghattaorya v Bailey is the most well known and often referred to. Click here for a copy of the judgment.

Mazur Run & Gun is the answer to the Mazur problem. Get away from it all! Run - and very fast! Armed only with deadly mince pies, you'll have to move fast to dodge the bullets sent at the unqualified, however supervised you may be. If you're not careful, you could end up floating away, and let's face it, no-one wants that! Mazur, like you've never seen it before! Christmas Game Mazur has had us all on the run, but can you outrun them? Armed only with deadly mince pies, your job is to chase the baddies away before they get to you, or even blow you away! Ahem. You all thought you could get a game about Mazur, but as it turns out, the Association of Gaming Designers* and the Board of Satire and Christmas Spirit*, in terms reminiscent of the CA in Denton speaking of Mitchell, have said you all mis-understood them. They have never approved you doing this. You cannot play a Mazur game, even when supervised. You can, however, play a game called 'Track Attack'. Which, as LJ Waller once famously said, may be a distinction without a difference... For years you've been conducting litigation under supervision. But no more, it seems everyone is out to get you. You can no longer do this. However, all is not lost! You might be able to outrun and outgun the baddies! Run away as fast as you can, and use your deadly mince pie gun to shoot others out of the way. But watch out, the occasional train will randomly fly off the tracks - so be quick! Track Attack is a perfectly suitable fun Christmas game for all litigators, qualified or not. Just run around and shoot stuff. Nothing to do with Mazur. Play here How to Play Controls A - Left D - Right W - Up S - Down Or use the arrow buttons: < - Left > - Right /\ - Up v - Down Space bar - shoot your deadly mince pie! Search the site here: Mazur Run & Gun does not work on mobile phones. It is designed to give my clients a few minutes reprieve when working hard at their desks. So next time you're at your PC or Laptop, come back and play the Mazur game. Meanwhile, just so you don't miss out entirely, have a go at this Christmas Match game. Nothing to do with Mazur! :) When you're done, why not browse through the fixed costs cases on here - see the Index or use the search function to see if there's a case or two you can use. I am particularly keen to get any judgments on the new Oct 23+ expanded fixed costs, so if you get any - reported or not - please do send them to me! Thank you. * entirely fictional and any similarity to any real organisations is entirely coincidental

About Sarah Robson Barrister - Black Belt Barrister - Fixed Costs Specialist. Article in Counsel Magazine about being a black belt barrister. Newspaper interview with The Sun regarding Tyson Fury and liability orders. Geographical Areas for in person hearings - based in the East Midlands, she covers Norwich to Southampton, Cardiff to York, Bristol to Liverpool. About Sarah Robson Sarah Robson Barrister Fixed Costs Specialist Call now on 0800 634 9650 Geographical Area Covered The yellow circle shows the courts that Sarah Robson normally works in for in person hearings, although most of her work is still remote so all courts in England & Wales are available. Sarah Robson is closest to courts around the Coventry / Northampton / Milton Keynes / Birmingham / Leicester / Reading area, but also regularly travels to Birkenhead, Liverpool, Leeds, Cardiff, Manchester, Bristol and across London. Sarah will travel further by arrangement. The Sun Newspaper - December 2023 Sarah Robson was interviewed by a National Newspaper, The Sun, regarding a specialist court case concerning liability orders for the boxer, Tyson Fury. This article appeared on the front page of The Sun in December 2023. Read the article here: Tyson Fury's next big fight is against the tax man - after champ accused of dodging massive bill | The Sun Counsel Magazine Oct 2023 Lessons learnt: The black belt barrister | COUNSEL | The Magazine of the Bar of England and Wales (counselmagazine.co.uk) Counsel magazine recently ran an article about Sarah Robson being a black belt and a barrister, in particular how each 'skill set' impacts on the other. Alpha Court Chambers Sarah practices at: Alpha Court Chambers alphacourtchambers.co.uk 12 Paddock Close Bidford-on-Avon, Alcester Warwickshire B50 4PJ Professional clients should ring for Sarah's postal address if needed.

Raja v Day & MIB HHJ Gregory, Liverpool CC, 2nd March 2015 At first instance, the lower court found that the claim would have left the Portal anyway, and declined to restrict the Claimant to Portal costs. However, on appeal, the court found the Claimant had acted unreasonably. The court also held that the lower court had been wrong to find that the claim would have left the Portal anyway. The Claimant was restricted to Portal costs. Raja v Day & MIB HHJ Gregory, Liverpool CC, 2nd Mar 2015 The Claimant had some difficulty in locating the correct and sent CNFs to a number of incorrect Defendants before finding the correct one. However, instead of sending them a CNF first, the Claimant issued Part 7 proceedings against them. At first instance, the lower court found that the claim would have left the Portal anyway, and declined to restrict the Claimant to Portal costs. However, on appeal, the court found the Claimant had acted unreasonably. The court also held that the lower court had been wrong to find that the claim would have left the Portal anyway. The Claimant was restricted to Portal costs. This case, along with Tennant v Cottrell , Dawrant v Part & Parcel Network and Hussain v Wardle confirms that a court cannot use hindsight when assessing whether a Claimant has acted unreasonably in breaching the Portal. A court must look at things as they were at the time of the breach. There can be no retrospective justification for an earlier Portal breach. Click here for a copy of the judgment Click here for a PDF copy of the judgment Go back to Main Index Main Index Go back to Topic Index Topic Index

Cookson v Manchester City Council, HHJ Main QC, Manchester CC, 28.04.17 - On acceptance of a Part 36 offer, CPR 45.24 was not available. Notably this is inconsistent with Ansell v AT & T. Key Point On acceptance of a Part 36 offer, CPR 45.24 was not available (inconsistent with Ansell v AT & T) Cookson v Manchester City Council HHJ Main QC, Manchester CC, 28.04.17 In this case, the claim had started in the MOJ Portal but then left. Proceedings were settled by way of Part 36. The Defendant argued that the claim had unreasonably left the Portal and that the Claimant should be restricted to no more than Portal costs, per CPR 45.24. However, the court found there was no discretion to award Portal costs where there had been acceptance of a Part 36 offer. It seems unlikely that the Rules Committee intended that where a claimant has acted unreasonably in leaving the Portal, they could evade the costs consequences of their unreasonable behaviour simply by making a Part 36 offer. This is particularly so when one considers the parties could not make costs bearing Part 36 offers whilst a claim is in the portal (CPR 36.24(4), and the clear indication given in 45.29A(4). It also appears that the court was not referred to the binding CA case of Solomon v Cromwell which decided that Part 36 offers do not preclude awarding fixed costs. It appears this is another badly drafted rule. It is also inconsistent with the case of Ansell & Evans v AT&T . Readers are reminded of the principle in Patel v Secretary of State for the Home Dept [2013] UKSC 72 at [59] where the court found that as a matter of general principle, thus: Where there are conflicting decisions from judges of co-ordinate jurisdiction, then, in the absence of cogent reasons to the contrary, the second of those decisions should be followed. As Ansell is the later decision, this should therefore, be preferred over Cookson v Manchester City Council . Click here for a copy of the judgment Go back to Main Index Main Index Go back to Topic Index Topic Index

Ampratwum & Zbigniew Samajeden v Esure Birkenhead CC, 5th June 2013 - the court held that a Claimant must have paid for vehicle damages personally before an interim payment can be claimed for them in the MOJ Portal. Key Point A Claimant must have paid for vehicle damages personally before an interim payment can be claimed for them Ampratwum & Zbigniew Samajeden v Esure Birkenhead CC, 5th June 2013 Sarah successfully argued here that a Claimant was not justified in leaving the Portal when a Defendant failed to make a payment for an interim payment within the requisite time. The entitlement to an interim payment for damages, sometimes called additional damages, only arises where a Claimant personally has paid out for that head of loss. If an interim payment for normal damages had not been made in time then a Claimant could leave the Portal. Please note there is no available copy of this judgment. This case makes the point that portal rules must be carefully studied! Go back to Main Index Main Index Go back to Topic Index Topic Index

Sharp v Leeds City Council [2017] EWCA Civ 33 on wehther SIIIA CPR 45 fixed costs applied on Pre-Action Disclosure ("PAD") applications. The Court of Appeal held SIIIA applied. To recognise implied exceptions to the application of fixed costs would undermine the whole fixed costs scheme. The 'blanket' application of SIIIA fixed costs was confirmed. The only exceptions are in CPR 45.29A(2) for disease claims, CPR 4529A(3) for costs assessed under CPR 45.24 and CPR 45.29B for multi track claims Key Point 'Blanket' application of SIIIA Costs Sharp v Leeds City Council [2017] EWCA Civ 33 Here the issue was whether SIIIA CPR 45 fixed costs applied on Pre-Action Disclosure ("PAD") applications. At first instance, it was held they did not apply, however on first-tier appeal the court said SIIIA did apply. The Court of Appeal held that SIIIA costs did apply. PAD applications were not in a class of their own. To recognise implied exceptions to the application of fixed costs would undermine the whole fixed costs scheme. This case confirms the 'blanket' application of SIIIA fixed costs. The only exceptions are as stated in CPR 45.29A(2), for disease claims, CPR 4529A(3) for costs assessed under CPR 45.24 and CPR 45.29B for claims allocated to the multi-track. Click here for a copy of the judgment Go back to Main Index Main Index Go back to Topic Index Topic Index

Bursuc v EUI Ltd DJ Revere, Clerkenwell & Shoreditch CC, 30th May 2018. Here the court held that the Portal exit by the claimant was NOT unreasonable given D's behaviour. Also the court held that it was premature to apply to restrict a Claimant to Portal costs before the claim had concluded. Key Points Portal exit was not unreasonable given D's behaviour and It was premature to apply to restrict a Claimant to Portal costs before the claim had concluded Bursuc v EUI Ltd DJ Revere, Clerkenwell & Shoreditch CC, 30th May 2018 This claim started in the MOJ RTA Portal Protocol, but the Claimant removed it from the Portal following the Defendant's repeated requests for more information and further disclosure. The Claimant had warned the Defendant that if they kept requiring further information, that they risked making the claim too complex for the Portal, but the Defendant continued to ask for more. The Claimant then removed the claim from the Portal because it was too complex, and issued Part 7 proceedings. Whilst those proceedings were ongoing, the Defendant made an application for the Claimant to be restricted to Portal costs under CPR 45.24. The Claimant argued that it was premature to seek such an order before the claim had concluded, and in any event, the claim had become too complex and was no longer suitable for the portal. In a reserved judgment the court found that the application was made too early, and in any event the departure from the Portal was not unreasonable in all the circumstances. The Claimant had supplied over 50 pages of evidence, the credit hire claim was not insignificant at over £17K, and it was clear that two of the heads of loss were going to be strongly defended, and the Claimant had warned (not 'threatened' as D argued) the Defendant that the claim may leave the Portal if they sought any further information , yet they still asked for more. This is an unusual decision, finding that a Portal exit was reasonable as most cases have held the opposite. However, it does demonstrate that the Portal Protocol is only suitable for straightforward claims, and Defendants need to be careful they do not make a claim too complex by how they approach defending such claims, particularly where the vehicle related damages are larger. Click here for a copy of the judgment Go back to Main Index Main Index Go back to Topic Index Topic Index

HHJ Stewart QC, Manchester CC, 21st July 2011 - believed to be the first ever Portal appeal. Here the court had no witness statement and a range of prognosis was given - the court had to consider what level of award to give - HHJ Stewart held one should approach this the same as a future loss claim. Key Point Where range of prognosis given, should use mid-point, as for future loss claims Dominic v Martin HHJ Stewart QC, Manchester CC, 21st Jul 2011 Under the 2010 Portal protocol there was no specific provision for witness statements, and Lamb v Gregory had not yet been decided. The judge faced with a paper assessment at Stage 3 and no witness statement, decided to award damages on the basis of the lowest end of the range of prognosis given. The Claimant appealed. On appeal (understood to be the very first Portal appeal) the court held that where a medical report gave a range of prognosis, in the absence of a witness statement, the court should award in the middle of the period, as with future loss cases. Click here for a copy of the judgment Go back to Main Index Main Index Go back to Topic Index Topic Index

Key Point Key Point The bar for exceptional circumstances is a high one and The basket of cases against which one assesses exceptionality is all those cases which start in the Portal and then leave Ferri v Gill [2019] EWHC 952 (QB) The lower court had erred in finding that the bar was low. It was in fact a very high bar. At [43] the court held: "As the House of Lords said in R v Soneji, an expression such as “exceptional circumstances” must take its colour from the setting in which it appears. The setting in which it appears informs the Court whether a strict approach to exceptional is or is not warranted. " The second question was whether the Master was right in defining the ‘basket’ of cases compared with which a case needs to have “exceptional circumstances”. At [47] the court held "It is clear that the basket of cases against which a case must demonstrate “exceptional circumstances” is the type of cases that have exited the Portal and are subject to the Part IIIA regime." The case was remitted back to Master Gordon-Saker to be assessed again. However, no judgment appears anywhere I can find, so it does seem likely the case then settled. If anyone knows any differently, please let me know. Click here for a copy of the judgment Go back to Main Index Main Index Go back to Topic Index Topic Index