The conflict between several insurers and claims management company, The Accident Group, has not been resolved in a judgement by Master Hurst, the Chief Costs Judge.
The Chief Costs Judges' preliminary decision on The Accident Group (TAG) Test Cases has not resolved the legal battle between insurers and TAG, lawyers for the insurers said.
Master Hurst's decision on a preliminary issue was released this morning.
Under Regulation Four of the Conditional Fee Agreement regulations, a legal representative must give advice to the client about the CFA.
Master Hurst was asked to determine whether it was lawful for TAG's employees to give this advice.
He found that, although they were not legal representatives, delegation of the responsibility was permissible, in principle, to anyone.
Beachcroft Wansbrough litigation partner Nick White said his insurer client would appeal the part of Master Hurst's ruling that suggested that "important statutory duties could be delegated to any person, regardless of qualifications or expertise."
"We believe such a decision could have significantly wider implications in many professional fields where duties are imposed by statute or otherwise," he said.
Master Hurst is still to decide whether the Regulation Four advice was actually given by the TAG employees and whether they constituted properly appointed agents.
