The Supreme Court Costs Office

No.12 of 2006

Cunningham v Collett & Farmer (A Firm) [2006] EWHC 148 (TCC)

9 February 2006

His Honour Judge Peter Coulson QC

In litigation “unhappy in the extreme” the parties agreed that the Judge should summarily assess the costs of various applications. When he came to address the summary assessment, one side said that the costs sought were disproportionate. The Judge gave preliminary views on proportionality and invited comments, which led to a further tranche of written submissions. The Judge carried out his summary assessment by producing a reserved judgment in which he set out the relevant principles which apply in assisting the court to decide issues of proportionality.