National law firm Beachcroft Wansbroughs said a ruling by the Lord Justice Brooks...
National law firm Beachcroft Wansbroughs said a ruling by Lord Justice Brooks has offered some clarity about the function of success fees.
Lord Justice Brooks said yesterday that paying success fees just because a case has come to court was not necessary.
In the case, Atack v Lee, the claimant's solicitor, Amelans, had appealed against a finding of 50% success fee on a case which went to trial and settled, after a finding on liability for £30,000.
Lord Justice Brooks dismissed the appeal because, he said, there was no guarantee of 100% success fee just because the case went to trial. A costs judge had to look at the facts at the time the conditional fee agreement was entered into, he said.
Beachcroft Wansbroughs head of strategic litigation Andrew Parker said it was a landmark ruling which was a victory for insurers.
“The Court of Appeal has made it clear that the 20% maximum for success fees applies to most older RTA cases, not just the simplest case that settles before proceedings.
“For conditional fee agreements after 1 August 2001, 5% is now going to be the norm. It is about time a judgment restricted the runaway success still awarded at a local level.”
