Press release
A third success for the Civil Justice Council in bringing an end to the "costs war"
June 2004
The Civil Justice Council has achieved a third industry agreement to extend the predictable costs scheme to include the level of success fee payable under a conditional fee agreement in employer's liability accident cases.
The agreement is the result of a third round of mediations conducted on behalf of the Civil Justice Council and involving the representatives of the main insurance, solicitors' organisations and the Bar.
The agreement sets out the success fee that an insurer will pay the claimant's solicitor in a third party employer's liability accident claim. The success fee for solicitors will be 25% of base costs recoverable for all successful claims that are settled pre or post issue at court. Cases where a trial is conducted will attract a 100% success fee. Where any claim is funded by a body in accordance with section 30 of the Access to Justice Act 1999 (membership organisations) an additional success fee uplift of 2½% shall be recoverable, by solicitors only, for pre-trial settlements. This reflects the risk of unrecovered disbursements in section 30 cases
Barristers will be entitled to similar success fees where cases either settle or go to trial, but will additionally attract a success fee of 50% for fast track cases that settle within 14 days of trial, and 75% for multi track cases that settle within 21 days of trial. Barristers will not be entitled to the 2½% section 30 uplift.
Welcoming the agreement, the Chairman of the Civil Justice Council, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, Master of the Rolls, said:
“This agreement extends the predictable costs scheme further, and maintains welcome momentum. For a third time, senior representatives of both claimant and defendant interests have managed to develop a workable solution to a sensitive and contentious area of litigation, under the Civil Justice Council's successful mediation model. Once again very difficult decisions have had to be made, in order to bring both long-term benefits to the civil justice system and better service to those who are injured. I applaud all those who have contributed to this success, in particular to Tim Wallis and Frances McCarthy who have brought this stage to a successful mediated conclusion. I hope to see continued co-operation and further extension of the scheme in due course”
Alistair Kinley of the Association of British Insurers said:
"The CJC Costs Mediation has once again helped all sides make huge progress forward from the dark days of the so-called 'costs war'. The latest agreement on success fees levels in employers' liability accident claims is yet further evidence of confidence in this process and of its importance in resolving costs issues.
As with road traffic success fees, this agreement is the product of a lot of
hard work by everyone involved, especially the mediators. It is another mature
and practical solution that everyone can work with and which ABI very much
welcomes."
Denise Kitchener, Chief Executive of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers commented:
“This has been a difficult and gruelling process, but we hope the recent agreement on success fees for employers' liability accident claims will introduce some clarity to procedures for these cases. We very much welcome this agreement as another example of how parties involved can work together to resolve their differences. In reaching this agreement, we are also pleased that the parties have agreed that we will work hard together to tackle all outstanding costs issues.”
The agreement will now be referred to the Rule Committee for consideration and drafting of the appropriate rules of court. It is hoped that the agreement will be implemented later in the early autumn.