Senior Courts Costs Office

No.16 of 2005

 Paturel v Marble Arch Services Ltd

 26 May 2005

 Mrs Justice Cox (Sitting with Assessors)

The principal issue in this appeal from a Deputy Master concerned whether the company, which was represented by one of their directors, could recover the costs of legal assistance received from a firm of solicitors where there was no certificate in form approved by the Court of Appeal in Bailey v IBC Vehicles Ltd [1998] 3 All ER 570. The Deputy Master had concluded that there was ample evidence in the correspondence that the solicitors were indeed instructed, and the Judge held that he was correct. Another objection to the bill was that there were no papers lodged in support of the solicitors’ part of the bill. The Deputy Master had given the parties the option of proceeding on the basis of his experience, and representations made to him, or granting an adjournment. Both parties agreed that he should adopt the former course, and again the Judge held that he was right to do that. There were also one or two minor matters where the Judge upheld the Deputy Costs Judge. She did, however, vary the order made below on the basis of a couple of minor arithmetical errors.