PART 48COSTS—SPECIAL CASES
SECTION 1—COSTS PAYABLE BY OR TO PARTICULAR PERSONS
Pre-commencement disclosure and orders for disclosure against a person who is not a party48.1
(1)
This paragraph applies where a person applies—
(2)
The general rule is that the court will award the person against whom the order is sought his costs—
(a)
of the application; and
(b)
of complying with any order made on the application.
(3)
The court may however make a different order, having regard to all the circumstances, including—
(a)
the extent to which it was reasonable for the person against whom the order was sought to oppose the application; and
(b)
whether the parties to the application have complied with any relevant pre-action protocol.
Costs orders in favour of or against non-parties48.2
(1)
(a)
that person must be added as a party to the proceedings for the purposes of costs only; and
(b)
he must be given a reasonable opportunity to attend a hearing at which the court will consider the matter further.
(2)
This rule does not apply—
(a)
where the court is considering whether to—
(i)
make an order against the F1Legal Services Commission;
(ii)
make a wasted costs order (as defined in 48.7); and
(b)
in proceedings to which rule 48.1 applies (pre-commencement disclosure and orders for disclosure against a person who is not a party).
Amount of costs where costs are payable pursuant to a contract48.3
(1)
Where the court assesses (whether by the summary or detailed procedure) costs which are payable by the paying party to the receiving party under the terms of a contract, the costs payable under those terms are, unless the contract expressly provides otherwise, to be presumed to be costs which—
(a)
have been reasonably incurred; and
(b)
are reasonable in amount,
and the court will assess them accordingly.
(The costs practice direction sets out circumstances where the court may order otherwise)
(2)
This rule does not apply where the contract is between a solicitor and his client.
Limitations on court’s power to award costs in favour of trustee or personal representative48.4
(1)
This rule applies where—
(a)
a person is or has been a party to any proceedings in the capacity of trustee or personal representative; and
(b)
rule 48.3 does not apply.
F2(2)
The general rule is that he is entitled to be paid the costs of those proceedings, insofar as they are not recovered from or paid by any other person, out of the relevant trust fund or estate.
(3)
Where he is entitled to be paid any of those costs out of the fund or estate, those costs will be assessed on the indemnity basis.
Costs where money is payable by or to a child or F3protected party48.5
(1)
This rule applies to any proceedings where a party is a child or F4protected party and—
(a)
money is ordered or agreed to be paid to, or for the benefit of, that party; or
(b)
money is ordered to be paid by him or on his behalf.
(2)
The general rule is that—
(a)
F8(b)
on an assessment under paragraph (a), the court must also assess any costs payable to that party in the proceedings, unless—
(i)
the court has issued a default costs certificate in relation to those costs under rule 47.11; or
(ii)
the costs are payable in proceedings to which Section II of Part 45 applies.
(3)
The court need not order detailed assessment of costs in the circumstances set out in the costs practice direction.
(4)
Where—
(a)
a claimant is a child or F4protected party; and
(b)
a detailed assessment has taken place under paragraph (2)(a),
(This rule applies to a counterclaim by or on behalf of child or F4protected party by virtue of rule 20.3)
Litigants in person48.6
(1)
This rule applies where the court orders (whether by summary assessment or detailed assessment) that the costs of a litigant in person are to be paid by any other person.
(2)
The costs allowed under this rule must not exceed, except in the case of a disbursement, two-thirds of the amount which would have been allowed if the litigant in person had been represented by a legal representative.
F10(3)
The litigant in person shall be allowed—
(a)
costs for the same categories of—
(i)
work; and
(ii)
disbursements,
which would have been allowed if the work had been done or the disbursements had been made by a legal representative on the litigant in person’s behalf;
(b)
the payments reasonably made by him for legal services relating to the conduct of the proceedings; and
(c)
the costs of obtaining expert assistance in assessing the costs claim.
(The costs practice direction deals with who may be an expert for the purpose of paragraph (2)(c))
F11(4)
The amount of costs to be allowed to the litigant in person for any item of work claimed shall be—
(a)
where the litigant can prove financial loss, the amount that he can prove he has lost for time reasonably spent on doing the work; or
(b)
where the litigant cannot prove financial loss, an amount for the time reasonably spent on doing the work at the rate set out in the practice direction.
(5)
A litigant who is allowed costs for attending at court to conduct his case is not entitled to a witness allowance in respect of such attendance in addition to those costs.
(6)
For the purposes of this rule, a litigant in person includes—
(a)
a company or other corporation which is acting without a legal representative; and
(b)
F12Costs where the court has made a Group Litigation Order48.6A
(1)
This rule applies where the court has made a Group Litigation Order (“ GLO”).
(2)
In this rule—
(a)
“individual costs” means costs incurred in relation to an individual claim on the group register;
(b)
“common costs” means—
(i)
costs incurred in relation to the GLO issues;
(ii)
individual costs incurred in a claim while it is proceeding as a test claim, and
(iii)
costs incurred by the lead solicitor in administering the group litigation; and
(c)
“group litigant” means a claimant or defendant, as the case may be, whose claim is entered on the group register.
(3)
Unless the court orders otherwise, any order for common costs against group litigants imposes on each group litigant several liability(GL) for an equal proportion of those common costs.
(4)
The general rule is that where a group litigant is the paying party, he will, in addition to any costs he is liable to pay to the receiving party, be liable for—
(a)
the individual costs of his claim; and
(b)
an equal proportion, together with all the other group litigants, of the common costs.
(5)
Where the court makes an order about costs in relation to any application or hearing which involved—
(a)
one or more GLO issues; and
(b)
issues relevant only to individual claims,
the court will direct the proportion of the costs that is to relate to common costs and the proportion that is to relate to individual costs.
(6)
Where common costs have been incurred before a claim is entered on the group register, the court may order the group litigant to be liable for a proportion of those costs.
(7)
Where a claim is removed from the group register, the court may make an order for costs in that claim which includes a proportion of the common costs incurred up to the date on which the claim is removed from the group register. (Part 19 sets out rules about group litigation).