The Supreme Court Costs Office

No.8 of 2005

 Irvine v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis & Ors

 3 February 2005

 Court of Appeal (Gibson, Scott-Baker and Jacob LJJ)

The Claimant, a serving police officer, tripped and injured himself on a loose stair carpet in a police station, and sued the First Defendants, his employer. They in turn brought in, under Part 20 proceedings, the company who managed the maintenance of the building, and they in turn involved the actual fitters of the carpet, and in due course the Claimant joined those two parties as additional Defendants to his claim.

The Judge held that the Claimant succeeded against the First Defendant, his employer, on breach of statutory duty but the claim on negligence against all three Defendants were dismissed, but not against either the Second or Third Defendant, and refused to make either a Sanderson or Bullock costs order in the Claimant’s favour.

The Court of Appeal held that both Sanderson and Bullock orders had survived the introduction of CPR, but on the facts the trial Judge had been correct not to make a Sanderson or Bullock costs order in favour of the Claimant.